Lesson plan
Benthoscope
The Benthoscope was a deep sea submersible designed by Otis Barton after the Second World War. He hired the Watson-Stillman Company, who had earlier constructed his and William Beebe's bathysphere, to produce the new design of deep diving vessel, which was named from the Greek benthos, meaning "bottom". The Benthoscope was essentially similar to the bathysphere, but was built to withstand higher pressures, with a crush depth of . Its internal diameter was , and its wall thickness was . It weighed , an increase in weight of over the bathysphere. Two windows of fused quartz were installed, one facing straight ahead and the other diagonally down. Other arrangements followed the bathysphere, with oxygen supplied from cylinders, and calcium chloride and soda lime used to absorb moisture and CO 2 respectively. In August 1949, Barton established a new world depth record with a solo descent to , which remains the deepest dive by a submersible suspended by a cable. The Benthoscope is now on display in front of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in San Pedro, California.
Article summary
The Benthoscope was a deep sea submersible designed by Otis Barton after the Second World War. He hired the Watson-Stillman Company, who had earlier constructed his and William Beebe's bathysphere, to produce the new design of deep diving vessel, which was named from the Greek benthos, meaning "bottom". The Benthoscope was essentially similar to the bathysphere, but was built to withstand higher pressures, with a crush depth of . Its internal diameter was , and its wall thickness was . It weighed , an increase in weight of over the bathysphere. Two windows of fused quartz were installed, one facing straight ahead and the other diagonally down. Other arrangements followed the bathysphere, with oxygen supplied from cylinders, and calcium chloride and soda lime used to absorb moisture and CO 2 respectively. In August 1949, Barton established a new world depth record with a solo descent to , which remains the deepest dive by a submersible suspended by a cable. The Benthoscope is now on display in front of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in San Pedro, California.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.