early design stages and some designs are becoming practical, near- 

 ly final, and 1 hope saleable. _£' If small submersibles are success- 

 ful, it miay well turn out that most of the large research ships will 

 routinely carry a small submarine in just the way that they now 

 carry an ordinary work boat in order to investigate interesting bio- 

 logical or geological features found on the echo-sounder. 



The scientific justification for these submarines is that by hav- 

 ing a trained person in a deep, on-the-spot laboratory more pur- 

 poseful and fruitful experiments can be miade than could be miade 

 with an instrument. For example, a rock-hunting geologist can 

 select the rock he chooses, turn it over with a manipulator, and, 

 if it still looks interesting, he can bring that particular rock back. 

 He will also know something about the local environment and 

 whether that rock is typical or not. If ripples are found on the 

 bottom, the area can be surveyed to see if they are present over 

 a wide area or a small area. 



Certainly, submarines with usuable windows in them are going 

 to encourage more interest in optical methods in research and 

 should increase our emphasis on the optical properties of the 

 water, including the optical scattering characteristics of marine 

 life and of the particles in the water. It will emiphasize the color 

 aspects of the ocean and its inhabitants. 



It is often heard that one cannot see miuch under the water. 

 Perhaps the real reason we have not seen much to date is because 

 we have refused to look underwater. Conventional submarines 

 took their windows out in 1941 and periscopes cannot be used very 

 far below the surface. The bathyscaphes did not have very power- 

 ful lights and few of our surface craft have windows in them. 

 Happily some of the research ships and submarines on the drawing 

 boards have corrected this optical deficiency. 



A few more comments about the techniques associated with 

 working at great depths are in order. Mr. B. King Couper was 

 certainly correct when he said that that "old devil pressure" 

 and that "old devil corrosive salt water" are working against us 

 at all times. On the other hand, there is also the point of view 

 inferred by Mr. Bridgeman in his book on high pressures that at 

 such low pressures as a few hundred atmospheres, almost any 



5/ Since the August meeting, a construction contract has been 

 let for Aluminaut . 



168 



