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The mystery of why the Titanic did not implode while sinking

Tuesday, 27/06/2023, 11:25 (GMT+7)

People were confused and wondered why the wreckage of ships like the Titanic, when it sank, does not undergo a similar implosion to what the Titan submersible suffered. There is a need for a scientific explanation behind this phenomenon.

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Image Credits: OceanGate

During the descent from the Titanic wreck, the Titan submersible experienced a 'catastrophic implosion' that resulted in the deaths of all five people on board.

According to the report, when the Titan sub suffered an implosion, experts believe the bodies of the five would have been instantaneously killed, disintegrating into dust within a fraction of a millisecond. Even, it is far too rapid for them to comprehend the unfolding event.

However, this is not the first time an instance of fatalities occurred due to a submarine implosion. According to a report, in 2017, the submarine San Juan was destroyed by an implosion, leading to the loss of all 44 crew members on board the Argentine submarine.

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Image Credits: GettyImages

The incident in which the submarine exploded, resulting in the deaths of passengers and crew, baffled everyone. People questioned how and why a submersible like the Titan could "explode catastrophically" when the wreck of a massive ship like the Titanic lay relatively intact on the ocean floor.

According to Sean Davis, the absence of a pressure differential is the fundamental reason why the Titanic ship did not implode.

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The 5 passengers who died on the missing Titan submersible. Image Credits: CNN

While in the case of the Titan sub, it is likely that the pressure inside and outside the Titan sub was different when its hull failed, leading to the destruction of the sub and the loss of all lives on board.

According to physics professor Arun Bansil, IFLScience, He said: "When a submersible is deep in the ocean it experiences the force on its surface due to water pressure. When this force becomes larger than the force hull can withstand, the vessel implodes violently."

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Image Credits: NOAA

According to the explained by the IFLScience, When the internal pressure of an object is lower than the external pressure, an implosion can happen when the structure holding the pressure becomes no longer withstand the force.

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Image Credits: Insider

Some parts of the Titanic did not explode and were relatively intact when the ship sank to the bottom of the ocean because the air could escape, so when it was filled with water, the pressure was the same inside and outside of these parts of the hull. Therefore it will not cause an explosion.

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Image Credits:Ocean Gate

Other parts, where the air cannot escape, are under different pressures, causing an explosion.

That's why in the wreck of the Titanic, the bow (front) of the ship is very recognizable, while the stern is almost completely destroyed.