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  (Source: virginoceanic.com)
Branson will be exploring the deepest parts of the world's oceans in the Virgin Oceanic submarine

Day two of the Brainstorm GREEN conference yesterday revealed that Richard Branson will embark on an undersea venture where he will explore some of the deepest parts of the oceans around the world. 

 

The Brainstorm GREEN conference is where thought leaders and business leaders - such as Fortune 500 companies, government policymakers and environmental activists - come together for a three-day symposium in Laguna Niguel, California in order to exchange and discuss ideas.

 

Richard Branson is a British entrepreneur who is known for the Virgin brand. He first launched Virgin Records in 1972, which later became Virgin Megastores. The name then grew into over 400 companies, which make up the Virgin Group. Branson is also deeply interested in environmental endeavors, such as the Virgin Green Fund, which invests in companies that can compete with "dirty industries" like oil and make a profit in order to eliminate reliance on dirty fuels.

 

Now, at the Brainstorm GREEN conference, Branson told Fortune Managing Editor Andy Serwer that he would be exploring the deepest parts of the world's oceans in the Virgin Oceanic submarine. 

 

The sub, which was designed by Graham Hawkes, weighs 8,000 lbs and is made of carbon fiber and titanium. It has an operating depth of 37,000 ft and can operate for 24 hours "unaided." It was designed in such a way that it looks like it has fins and a unique flying wing so that can range the seas "in harmony with its environment." In addition, Branson notes that it is much less expensive to operate and manufacture than other subs that cannot achieve full ocean depth like the Virgin Oceanic can. 

 

"Virgin Oceanic will expand the reach of human exploration on our planet," said Branson. "By promoting and utilizing new technology, Virgin Oceanic will aid humankind's ability to explore our oceans, assist science in understanding our ecosystem and raise awareness of the challenges facing our oceans." 

 

He also noted that other submarines prior to the Virgin Oceanic could only dive 18,000 ft, while some of the deepest trenches in the world are around 36,000 ft. The Virgin Oceanic was designed to be the first sub to explore some of these areas. 

 

The Virgin Oceanic venture will consist of five dives in five different oceans. The crew will explore the Mariana Trench in the Pacific, the Diamantina Trench in the Indian, the South Sandwich Trench in the Southern Atlantic, the Puerto Rico Trench in the Atlantic and the Molloy Deep in the Arctic Ocean. 

 

"Each dive will be piloted by different commanders with Chris Welsh diving to the Mariana Trench (36,201 ft) with Sir Richard as back-up pilot, and Sir Richard piloting to the Puerto Rico Trench (28,232 ft) - the deepest trench in the Atlantic, which has never been explored before - with Chris Welsh acting as back-up," said Branson. "The Virgin Oceanic sub has the ability to 'fly' underwater for 10 km at depth on each of the five dives and to fully explore this unknown environment." 

 

The mission is expected to take two years.

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RE: Is this a joke?
By Iaiken on 4/7/2011 10:54:02 AM , Rating: 2
Every single advancement in photon lithography required new generations of lasers that required new materials and types of photon laser to achieve each smaller and smaller step. Even photochemical properties of the silicon wafers themselves, the bath liquid and the combinations of lithography performed have all changed significantly over time. There are even other more recent forms of lithography such as SOI and electron beam lithography that have been developed, but aren't widely needed because the mentioned advancements in photon lithography has kept it competitive long beyond initial exceptions.

Even something as seemingly innocuous as a die shrink is in fact a monumental task with tens of thousands of hours of R&D to address problems like current leakage, parasitic capacitance, and even heat dissipation. You seem to think that these problems are simple and that each tiny step forward is only possible because of the millions of converging footprints behind it.

Anyway, I can't convince you against your will so if you really want to continue believing the ridiculous fiction you keep spouting then I am happy to leave you to it. :P


RE: Is this a joke?
By Pirks on 4/7/2011 12:49:21 PM , Rating: 2
Exactly what I said - baby steps in material science allowed for progress, but until you get down to atomic level you'll keep going slow. Don't expect next gen computers until we get to nanoscale assembly machines, until then you'll keep getting regurgitated Intel CPUs every year with a speedup of 5% for each new generation. Baby steps like I said.


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