The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-05-16
DIVING TO THE POLE.

research and the solution of the great Arctic problem-the passage of that hitherto insuperable three and half
 degrees belt between the Duke of the
 Abruzzi's record CSC degrees 34 seconds) and the Pole may well be described as the blue ribbon of exploration in general. The latest and most daring plan is that of the two German explorers, pr. School and Dr. Anschulz-Kampfe. The
 plan of the latter explorer is, in brief, to
 reach the North Pole by means of a submarine vessel. He proposes, in fact, ! to dive under the belt of thick ice which encircles the actual site of the North Pole. Herr Kampfe, it seems, lays great
 stress on the two following indisputable facts! First, that the continuous belt or field of pack ice, never exceeds a diameter of more than three miles or so;
 and, secondly, iceberg being absent
 from the regions immediately surround ing the Pole, the maximum depth of the | ice below the suface does not exceed eighty feet. The proposed vessel will be { capable of descending to a depth of 160 feet-that is, to 6 depth nearly twice that which would, in the opinion of ex- | perts, be required to clear the ice. At
 this depth 1t will be entirely removed at least, that is Herr Kampfe's con- tention-from the influence of cold, | storms, and ice pressure, and the way | to the Pole will be therefore open. But the explorer, if mere amateur fn s,,h r seems to have omitted to reckon with
 the enormous amount of pressure which
 is known to be exerted at the depth of | hundred feet or so.
 The length of time during which the ship will be able to remain below the surface is calculated at a maxi
 mum of fifteen hours, which at the | modest rate of three knots allows it to
 cover distance of some fifty miles. In I the not altogether improbable contin- gency of no opening being met with within the fifteen hours there remains thr possibility, Of opening a way by blasting at a weak point in the ice, "to
 be indicated without possibility by the help of the nlanometer.''
 Here it seems there is a little flaw no mechanical contrivance, even that of l German savant, Is infallible. "The risk Of injury by collision will be nin- imized," Herr Kampfe proceeds, mot
 only by the slow rate of motion, but by the great power of resistance to be pos
 sessed by the ship" 7. | The form of this submarine vessel will be eigar-shaped, with a major axis ls,pe fxr faa% | ty-six feet, giving displacement of eight hundred tons. To obyiate rolling
 the center of gravity will be placed as ! low as possible. The capacity of the
 interior will be thirty-five hundred cu- bic feet, which allows sufficient air for l five men for fifteen hours, the arbconic acid emitted being removed by combi-
 nation with caustic soda. Propulsion | will be effected by horizontal and verti-
 cal screws, the former of forty, the lat | ter of five horsepower, this last being sufficient to counteract the tendency to
 rise. while the motive power is to be supplied by petroleum motor through | the medium of 8 two hundred and twenty volt accumulation. One hundred l and fifty tons of petroleum will be talk en- or more than ten times the quantity
 needed for the six hundred miles voy-
 age to the Pole from Spitzbergen, to which, or rather to the edge of the ice,
 the submarine boat will be lowed.
 The living room will be exactly in the
 center, and round it the sleeping cab ins will be grouped, the ceilings, walls and floors having several coatirgs of non conducting material. To ensure further warmth, the ships sides will be lined with tarred felt, cork padding, panelling, another layer of felt, air. tight linoleum and more panelling-six coats all told.
 There will be but one opening, the turret, which projects about one foot, and serves as manhole through which
 the crew may enter and depart. The
 turret is the captains bridge" and has five glass windows of enormous thick
 ness, one overhead-which may be
 raised-and the rest in the direction of
 the four quarters of the compass.
 On arrival at the ice pack the direc-
 tion of the first open water will be ta-
 ken by the compass, and the boat be-
 ing submerged, a course will be steered
 for 1t. If after an hour or so the light
 shows that an opening has been
 reached, the vertical screw will be
 stopped, and the boat will rise by its
 own buoyancy, and in the case of
 wide opening or channel leading north
 wards the voyage will be continued on
 the surface, giving an opportunity for
 scientific work.
 Supposing no gleam of light appears
 when six hours have elapsed an ascent
 to the lower surface will be made with
 caution, and the voyage continued slow
 ly until, by the reading of the manon-
 eter, it is found that thin place has
 been reached. Here attempts will be
 made by blasting to effect an opening,
 which, however small, will be sufficient
 to supply air for another fifteen hours,
 while in case of failure there will still
 be time to return to the last opening
 that has been left, whence the voyage
 will be prosecuted in slightly differ
 ent direction. But both the ossump-
 tions madeline existence of an unin-