Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 68.djvu/275

 Rh extrusion or withdrawal of cylindrical plungers for the purpose of varying the displacement) were the only means of controlling vertical movement, it would be exceedingly difficult to reach or to maintain any desired depth. This difficulty was anticipated on theoretical grounds, and has been verified on service—in some cases, with considerable risks to the experimentalists—the submarines having reached the bottom before the vertical motion could be checked. It has consequently become the rule for all submarines to be left with a small reserve of buoyancy when brought into the diving condition. Submergence is then effected by the action of horizontal rudders controlled by operators within the vessels. Under these conditions, submergence only continues as long as onward motion is maintained, since there is no effective pressure on the rudders when the vessel is at rest. The smallest reserve of buoyancy should always bring a submarine to the surface if her onward motion ceases, and, as a matter of fact, in the diving condition that reserve is extremely small, amounting to only 300 lbs. (equivalent to 30 gallons of water) in vessels of 120 tons total weight. This is, obviously, a narrow margin of safety, and necessitates careful and skilled management on the part of those in charge of submarines. A small change in the density of the water, such as occurs in an estuary or in the lower reaches of a great river, would speedily obliterate the reserve of buoyancy and cause the vessel to sink if water was not expelled from the tanks. Moreover, variations in weight of the submarine (due to the consumption of fuel, the discharge of torpedoes or other causes) must sensibly affect the reserve of buoyancy, and arrangements must be made to condensate for these variations by admitting equal weights of water in positions that will maintain the 'trim' of the vessel. Additional safeguards against foundering have been provided in some submarines by fitting detachable ballast. The more common plan is to make arrangements for rapidly expelling water from the tanks either by means of pumps or by the use of compressed air. In modern submarines, with locomotive torpedoes, compressed air is, of course, a necessity, and can be readily applied in the manner described if it is desired to increase their buoyancy.

The conditions of stability of submarines when diving, are also special. At the surface, owing to their singular form, the longitudinal stability is usually much less than that of ordinary ships. When submerged, their stability is the same in all directions, and it is essential that the center of gravity shall be kept below the center of buoyancy. This involves no difficulty, because water-ballast tanks can be readily built in the lower portions of the vessel. Small stability in the longitudinal sense, however, necessitates great care in the maintenance of trim, and in the avoidance of serious movements of weights within the vessels. Moreover, when a vessel is diving under the action of her longitudinal rudders, she is extremely sensitive to changes of trim, and