(classical music)
- Hey there, I'm Josh Clark,
and this is the Brain Stuff
where I explain to you a little
bit about diesel submarines.
Now, I know you're out there
walking around thinking,
everything's hunky-dory
with our submarine fleet,
if you live in a country that has a Navy,
but did you know that
there's a war going on
between what type of submarine is better?
Yeah, follow me with this.
Diesel submarines are pretty prevalent
all across the world,
but here's the spit take,
they need air to function.
(spits out drink)
So, how do diesel submarines work
if they need air, but, as is the
common characteristic of
submarines everywhere,
they need to stay underwater
for prolonged periods of time.
Here's the answer, and it's so obvious
you're gonna feel silly
for not thinking of it.
Batteries.
That's right, diesel submarines
are pretty much hybrid vehicles.
When they run their diesel engines,
the batteries are charged.
The batteries power electric motors
that run the propeller and
all that kind of thing.
Every once in a while when
the batteries get low,
a diesel submarine has to surface
so it can run its diesel engines,
charge its batteries
and then slip back down.
Either the submarine has
to surface completely,
or they run up a little snorkel
called a snort.
Snort.
The problem is, if you are on a sub
and you have to surface
or come close enough
to run your snort up, that means you are
at a greater risk of
being captured or sunk.
Anyone who's ever played
the game Battleship knows
it's way easier when you can see
where the submarine is,
you know what I'm saying?
So to solve this problem,
people came up with the nuclear submarine.
The nuclear powered submarine
doesn't rely on oxygen for combustion
like a diesel engine
does, which means it can
stay submerged indefinitely, or at least
until the submarine crew
all loses their minds.
The problem is, with nuclear subs,
even though they're way
faster than diesel submarines,
is that they're more expensive.
You can buy something like
two to four diesel subs
for the price of one nuclear sub,
and they're also louder.
You have to keep running your
engines in a nuclear sub.
With a diesel sub, once
the batteries are charged,
you're just zipping along,
sounding like a Prius,
(imitates electric motor), you know,
and you can sit silently
with all of your engines off
on the sea floor and go pretty much
unnoticed if you want.
You can't do that in a nuclear sub.
Plus, in a diesel submarine, the crew,
they may have black lung from inhaling
any of the fumes, but at least they're not
gonna have a healthy green glow
like you will probably on a nuclear sub,
you know what I'm saying?
So which one's better?
The nuclear sub or a diesel sub?
They both have their pros and their cons,
and really, isn't this the question
that every human being is faced with
at some point in their lifetime?
If you like this video, there's tons more
where this came from.
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"Hey this was awesome,"
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"for a Brain Stuff idea?"
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