Under the sea 51 years ago today...

CCIP · 02-03-08, 07:44 PM

Had this one pop up on Wiki earlier today in the "on this day" section and I thought this was worth making note of

Quote:

1957 – USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, logged her 60,000th nautical mile, matching the endurance of the fictional Nautilus described in Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

I always found those science-fiction-to-reality things very cool!

Where are you Bill, tell us more about that great old sub of yours :p

[edit, oops, 51, not 61 years...]

Torplexed · 02-03-08, 07:47 PM

Atomic power was once the epitome of all things futuristic. Makes it even harder to think it was 61 years ago.

CCIP · 02-03-08, 07:48 PM

51 years. I made a typo

Torplexed · 02-03-08, 08:11 PM

Got to thinking about the world's first atomic-powered merchant ship, the USS Savannah. After rusting at dockside for years she is being turned into a musuem ship. Too bad the atoms for peace idea was never economically viable.

CCIP · 02-03-08, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torplexed

Got to thinking about the world's first atomic-powered merchant ship, the USS Savannah. After rusting at dockside for years she is being turned into a musuem ship. Too bad the atoms for peace idea was never economically viable.

Wow, good thing she's being preserved. I looked it up and she's a very stylish (in a 50's retro-futuristic kind of way!) ship.

This fact amused me about the ship though...

Quote:

Cost: $46,900,000 ($18,600,000 for the ship, and $28,300,000 for the nuclear plant and fuel)

Maybe that's why the idea never took off. It sure looks pretty scary on paper

Torplexed · 02-03-08, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CCIP

Maybe that's why the idea never took off. It sure looks pretty scary on paper

Yeah...that was part of it. The other factor was that the crew was more expensive to train and pay. Atomic reactors being more high-maintenance than standard oil-fired boilers.

She had a swimming pool and some other nice amenities tho. Although there have been about three other civilian atomic-powered ships since, the idea never really took off.

Ishmael · 02-03-08, 09:55 PM

Today is also the 49th anniversary of the day the music died. 49 years ago, Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens were killed in a plane crash.

02-03-08, 07:47 PM	#2
Torplexed Let's Sink Sumptin' ! Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 5,823 Downloads: 43 Uploads: 0	Atomic power was once the epitome of all things futuristic. Makes it even harder to think it was 61 years ago. __________________ --Mobilis in Mobili--

02-03-08, 07:48 PM	#3
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	51 years. I made a typo __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)

02-03-08, 08:11 PM	#4
Torplexed Let's Sink Sumptin' ! Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 5,823 Downloads: 43 Uploads: 0	Got to thinking about the world's first atomic-powered merchant ship, the USS Savannah. After rusting at dockside for years she is being turned into a musuem ship. Too bad the atoms for peace idea was never economically viable. __________________ --Mobilis in Mobili--

02-03-08, 09:55 PM	#7
Ishmael Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Morro Bay, Ca. Posts: 659 Downloads: 79 Uploads: 0	Today is also the 49th anniversary of the day the music died. 49 years ago, Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens were killed in a plane crash.