Imagine unsinkable ships
Of course, a claim like that, has us think about a somewhat similar claim about the Titanic, and we nowknow, that didn't work out so well.
But, for a moment, think about a ship made from a material, that itself is unsinkable.
Researchers at the University of Rochester used short pulses of a powerful laser to make the microsurface of metal highly hydrophobic. It now repels water. So, the material itself floats, no matter what shape it is in.
Currently, the shape of the hulls of ships displace a lot of water to make the ship float. However, if the hull is damaged, the ship can sink. Imagine the same hull made from the hydrophobic metal. You could shoot holes in the hull and it would still float.
For more on this topic, here's a video
Comments (6)
Archimedes nailed it.
N. Korea Announces Construction Of Unsinkable Submarine!
Even after being fully immersed in water for many months, the hydrophobic material still floats on top of water,
after it is released from whatever is holding it under water.
If it is valuable enough, in some cases (pun intended), it could be contained within a package made from the same, or similar, material.
That casing could be re-usable for future shipments.
Alternatively, If the whole ship is mostly encased in the material (for example, envision an elongated balloon shape with doors) , and the cargo is fastened down to the ship, treating the cargo differently may become unnecessary.