normally can reach the deck very quickly. But if, as a result of some 

 mishap in the antechamber, the crew were obliged to remain shut up 

 for many hours in the cabin and their supplies of oxygen and soda of 

 lime were exhausted, it would be necessary to open the schnorkel to 

 replace the vitiated air by fresh air, either by means of a ventilator 

 placed in the cabin, or by means of compressed air furnished by a ship 

 on the surface. In this case the pilot would have only to push the rod. 

 Then the plug would go out with the plexiglas into the outside box, 

 where it is held in a central position by means of a centring screw h. 

 All the water contained in the external tubes will then enter the cabin 

 where a tube /(on the right in the diagram) will lead it away to a suit- 

 able receptacle. Then, by means of the same tube, one could establish 

 the required circulation of air. 



The part played by the different pieces shown at the base of the 

 design (stuffing-box, maintenance of the plug in open and closed 

 positions) will be readily understood. 



THE 'PYROTENAX* CABLES 



For all external electric cables of the bathyscaphe and for the passages 

 in towards the cabin, we made a very large use of 'Pyrotenax' cables. 

 These cables, made by Pirelli of Milan, are composed of a copper tube 

 through which pass one or several copper wires insulated by dehydrated 

 and compressed asbestos. These cables are extraordinarily robust. They 

 can be folded, even at a right angle, and, which is important for us, they 

 can be heated red-hot and have rings brazed on to them with silver 

 solder without imperilling the insulation. 



ARALDITE D 



The Ciba Company of Basle makes a synthetic resin, Araldite D, 

 which rendered us great service. Unlike most synthetic resins, this can 

 be polymerized without any need to heat it. By simply mixing two 

 liquids there is obtained a fluid substance which, at the end of an hour, 

 solidifies and which, after one or two days, becomes as hard and 

 insulating as amber, and all this without showing any diminution of 

 volume, which is not the case with many other synthetic resins. 



THE PASSAGE OF THE THICK *PYROTENAX' CABLES 



In order to connect the large battery, originally placed on deck 

 to the inside of the cabin, and to work the propellers and the floodlamps, 



[171] 



