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Nereus spheres being dropped with protective cover on.

Nereus spheres being dropped with protective cover on.
Nereus spheres being dropped with protective cover on.
Nereus spheres being dropped with protective cover on.
Nereus spheres being dropped with protective cover on.
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348838
Kleindinst, Thomas N.
Nereus spheres being dropped with protective cover on.
Still Image
07/07/2009
graphics/Ceramic_Spheres/_TOM7102.jpg
Ceramic spheres with protective cover on (bouncing when dropped) and without cover on (smashing when dropped).
Image of The Day caption:
To allow a heavy deep-sea vehicle like Nereus to float in the deepest depths, engineers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) used an entirely new system of ceramic spheres to provide lift and the ability to withstand extreme pressures. A plastic jacket fits over the spheres and protects them from damage. ?You could take a sphere with a jacket on and throw it against the concrete floor as hard as possible, and it?ll bounce, but it won's break," says WHOI engineer Don Peters.
Caption from Oceanus magazine, Vol. 47, No. 3, Pg. 37:
Though the flotation spheres stand up to deep-sea pressure, they shatter easily. But encased in a protective clear plastic jacket, they bounce.
Photo by Tom Kleindinst
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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