Curious Dragonfly Monthly Science Newsletter The RMS

AN UNSINKABLE SHIP! The idea was first drawn on a cocktail napkin. Joseph Bruce Ismay, the Managing Director for well-known shipping company White Star Lines, was attending a dinner party. He and friend Lord William James Pirrie wanted to design a line of ships that could carry people and cargo while offering luxurious accommodations for first-class passengers. Their designs led to a trio of ships: the Olympic, the Gigantic, and lastly, the Titanic.

Construction on the Titanic began on March 31, 1909 in Belfast, Ireland. From the outset, the Titanic was built to be the largest ship to ever take to the ocean, and White Star Lines's marketing materials claimed the ship was "...designed to be unsinkable!"

It took nearly 3 years, 3000 workers, and 7.5 million dollars to complete the Titanic. Would you have booked a ticket on the RMS Titanic?

TITANIC FACTS:

882'9": The ship's length

92': The ship's breadth

175': The ship's height, from the top of the funnel to the keel

11: Number of decks

900: The weight (in tons) of freight and baggage aboard the ship

Building the Titanic in Belfast. 29: Number of coal-fired boilers MAIDEN VOYAGE! As was the policy of White Star Lines, the launch of the Titanic in Belfast held no pomp, no ceremonial naming of the ship, and no champagne. The Titanic entered the water at 12:15pm while a crowd of roughly 10,000 watched on and cheered. The Titanic launches. The Titanic's voyage to America was scheduled to take seven days. Before crossing the cold, dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the mammoth liner made stops in both England and France. After one last stop in Queenstown, Ireland, the ship and its 900 crew members and over 2200 passengers began the long voyage to America.

What do you think it was like to see the Titanic launch?

LIFE ABOARD THE TITANIC For first- and second-class passengers, the accommodations were exquisite. Every part of the Titanic was bought brand-new or built specially for the ship. First-class accommodations were located mid-ship, where they were least likely to feel the rocking of the ship. Public rooms included a gymnasium, a cafe, and libraries. There was also a grand staircase made of oak paneling that extended through six of the ship's decks and was topped by a glass dome and a clock flanked by intricate statues.

Many wealthy passengers were aboard the ship, including a dozen men and women whose fortunes, at the time, were over three-hundred million dollars. Notable names like Macy's Department Store co-owner Isidor Straus and millionaire John Jacob Astor IV, the great-grandson of the founder of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, were among the passengers. A Titanic menu. For three days, guests experienced the luxury that Titanic had to offer. Meals for first- class passengers could include up to thirteen courses, and last three to four hours. Second-class passengers were fed in much the same manner, while third-class passengers received stew and bread.

All was quiet on the evening of April 14th. But that was soon about to change.

Which of the Titanic's lavish accommodations interests you most? ICEBERG!

The cloudless sky that fateful night was an inky black dotted with stars. The ocean was calm, and the temperature dropped quickly after dinner. Despite the lack of rippling waves, Captain Edward Smith was confident that any iceberg large enough to cause damage would be easily seen. Earlier in the day, the Enlarged photo of what is considered captain had received several iceberg to be the iceberg struck by the Titanic. warnings. Around 11:30pm, while many of the Titanic passengers were fast asleep, a crew member in the ship's crow's nest spied an iceberg. However, the chunk of ice was too close, and the ship could not turn in time. The iceberg struck the ship on the starboard (or right) side.

In the ship's numerous boiler rooms, a sound like loud, rolling thunderclaps filled the air. The hull scraped against the iceberg. Water began to pour into the boiler rooms as men frantically tried to seal off the damaged areas.

Unaware of the flooding in the boiler rooms, passengers who had heard or felt the grinding of the ship began to cluster on the ship's deck, trying to sort out exactly what happened. Men were dressed in pajamas, women in nightgowns and robes. Some joked, while others believed the ship had struck another, smaller vessel.

At 12:25am on the morning of April 12th, Captain Edward Smith gave the order to begin filling lifeboats "with ."

How would you react if you were aboard the Titanic that night?

The Titanic's path, and the location where it struck the iceberg. SURVIVING THE DISASTER Unfortunately, the Titanic was not pre- pared for such a disaster. While the ship was designed to carry 32 lifeboats, its designers felt it would look too cluttered, and the number was reduced to 20. It was enough to save roughly 1/3 of the ship's passengers. The boat was built to hold even more - 64 lifeboats total - but many spots remained unfilled.

Lifeboats could handle 65 passengers, but some were barely filled to half-capacity. Artist's rendering of the Titanic sinking.

Half-filled lifeboats plunged into the icy water as the great ship cracked in half and began its slow descent to the ocean floor. By the time the RMS Carpathia arrived at 4am, the ship had been swallowed by the water.

More than 1500 passengers and crew members died when the Titanic sank. 90% of them were second-class males. The 'un- sinkable' ship lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean for 73 years until it was Several of the Titanic's lifeboats. discovered. FAMOUS FACES ON THE TITANIC

Archibald Gracie Margaret (Molly) Brown Capt. Edward Smith Gracie was among The well-known survivor Captain Smith remained the last survivors to has been nicknamed The aboard the doomed ship leave the ship. Unsinkable Molly Brown. as it sank. WRECKAGE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ATLANTIC!

On September 1, 1985, a team of American and French researchers led by of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute dis- covered the wreckage of the Titanic. It was 370 miles (595km) south of Newfoundland, lying at a depth of more than 12,000 feet (3650m). Ballard reported the find was in surprisingly good condition, and that cold ocean water had shielded the ship from decay. The wreckage was strewn over nearly 1,000 acres of sea bed.

The first device to discover the Titanic was an underwater vessel that used a system of television cameras and sonar. It was called the Argo, named for the mythical Greek ship sailed by Jason. The Argo was developed by the Office of Naval Research to study the ocean bottom. The tethered device was unmanned, and could thus operate 24 hours a day.

Argo could easily navigate the rugged underwater terrain, and was capable of reaching 20,000 feet (6,000m). It was 15 feet (4.6m) long, and weighed 4,000 pounds (1814kg).

How do you think it felt recovering such an amazing piece of history?

One of the ship's 3 propellers (starboard), and a stack of china dishes. Above: Argo, the underwater vessel that first detected the Titanic wreckage. EXPLORATION! Since Ballard's discovery of the sunken Titanic, there have been many voyages beneath the sea to study and retrieve items lost in the tragedy. Researchers have used a variety of devices to photograph and document the site. DSV (Deep Submergence Vehicle) Alvin was the first HOV, or Human Operated Vehicle, to dive to the sunken liner. Two scientists and a pilot would dive for 8 hours at a time in the Alvin.

A more common tool used to study deep-sea finds is an ROV, or a Remotely Operated Vehicle (an example of which can be seen above and, in more detail, below). The ROV sent to study the Titanic made several successful missions between 1986 and 1991. The ROV is tethered to a surface ship via a fiber-optic cable, where it is operated by an onboard pilot. The cable can reach for miles beneath the water.

In 2004, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched an expedition to map the Titanic wreckage and study its rapid deterioration. High-definition videos and stereoscopic still images were captured.

Most recently, private tour of the sunken ship have offered tourists a chance to see the ship, at a cost of $60,000. Published by the Connexxus Would you ride in an HOV underwater to study the Titanic? Travel Office University of California, Office of the President Portal: http://ucal.us/connexxus Email: [email protected] ITEMS RECOVERED FROM THE RMS TITANIC Over 6,000 artifacts have been recovered from the wreckage. Here are a few:

Pocketwatch owned by The ship's bell, engraved: One of the many pieces a 2nd-class passenger. RMS TITANIC. 1912. of jewelry retrieved from the site.

A 3rd-class White This violin, played by the band A pair of oxidized Star Lines teacup. on board the doomed ship, was binoculars recovered sold at auction for $1.7 million. from the ship.

ENGAGING QUESTIONS!

1. What made Titanic's maiden voyage such a grand affair for travelers? 2. Why did Captain Smith continue on course after receiving iceberg warnings? 3. What impact did the sinking have on global travel? 4. How did class systems affect who survived the ship's sinking? 5. What do you think can be learned from studying the Titanic wreckage? 6. What other tragedies or geological events can be studied by ROV and DSV technology?

Curious Dragonfly LLC Trina Terrell www.curiousdragonfly.com 303.903.5319