A Short History of Nearly Everything-第58章

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　adventurer　and　for　the　next　quarter　century　traveled　extensively　through　asiaand　south　america　with　a　succession　of　attractive　female　assistants　whose　jobs　wereinventively　described　as　“historian　and　technicist”　or　“assistant　in　fish　problems。”　hesupported　these　endeavors　with　a　succession　of　popular　books　with　titles　like　edge　of　thejungle　and　jungle　days；　though　he　also　produced　some　respectable　books　on　wildlife　andornithology。

in　the　mid…1920s；　on　a　trip　to　the　galápagos　islands；　he　discovered　“the　delights　ofdangling；”　as　he　described　deep…sea　diving。　soon　afterward　he　teamed　up　with　barton；　whocame　from　an　even　wealthier　family；　had　also　attended　columbia；　and　also　longed　foradventure。　although　beebe　nearly　always　gets　the　credit；　it　was　in　fact　barton　who　designedthe　first　bathysphere　（from　the　greek　word　for　“deep”）　and　funded　the　12；000　cost　of　itsconstruction。　it　was　a　tiny　and　necessarily　robust　chamber；　made　of　cast　iron　1。5　inches　thickand　with　two　small　portholes　containing　quartz　blocks　three　inches　thick。　it　held　two　men；　butonly　if　they　were　prepared　to　bee　extremely　well　acquainted。　even　by　the　standards　of　theage；　the　technology　was　unsophisticated。　the　sphere　had　no　maneuverability—it　simply　hungon　the　end　of　a　long　cable—and　only　the　most　primitive　breathing　system：　to　neutralize　theirown　carbon　dioxide　they　set　out　open　cans　of　soda　lime；　and　to　absorb　moisture　they　opened　asmall　tub　of　calcium　chloride；　over　which　they　sometimes　waved　palm　fronds　to　encouragechemical　reactions。

but　the　nameless　little　bathysphere　did　the　job　it　was　intended　to　do。　on　the　first　dive；　injune　1930　in　the　bahamas；　barton　and　beebe　set　a　world　record　by　descending　to　600　feet。　by1934；　they　had　pushed　the　record　to　3；028　feet；　where　it　would　stay　until　after　the　war。　bartonwas　confident　the　device　was　safe　to　a　depth　of　4；500　feet；　though　the　strain　on　every　bolt　andrivet　was　audibly　evident　with　each　fathom　they　descended。　at　any　depth；　it　was　brave　andrisky　work。　at　3；000　feet；　their　little　porthole　was　subjected　to　nineteen　tons　of　pressure　persquare　inch。　death　at　such　a　depth　would　have　been　instantaneous；　as　beebe　never　failed　toobserve　in　his　many　books；　articles；　and　radio　broadcasts。　their　main　concern；　however；　wasthat　the　shipboard　winch；　straining　to　hold　on　to　a　metal　ball　and　two　tons　of　steel　cable；would　snap　and　send　the　two　men　plunging　to　the　seafloor。　in　such　an　event；　nothing　couldhave　saved　them。

the　one　thing　their　descents　didn’t　produce　was　a　great　deal　of　worthwhile　science。

although　they　encountered　many　creatures　that　had　not　been　seen　before；　the　limits　ofvisibility　and　the　fact　that　neither　of　the　intrepid　aquanauts　was　a　trained　oceanographer　meantthey　often　weren’t　able　to　describe　their　findings　in　the　kind　of　detail　that　real　scientistscraved。　the　sphere　didn’t　carry　an　external　light；　merely　a　250…watt　bulb　they　could　hold　upto　the　window；　but　the　water　below　five　hundred　feet　was　practically　impenetrable　anyway；and　they　were　peering　into　it　through　three　inches　of　quartz；　so　anything　they　hoped　to　viewwould　have　to　be　nearly　as　interested　in　them　as　they　were　in　it。　about　all　they　could　report；　inconsequence；　was　that　there　were　a　lot　of　strange　things　down　there。　on　one　dive　in　1934；beebe　was　startled　to　spy　a　giant　serpent　“more　than　twenty　feet　long　and　very　wide。”　itpassed　too　swiftly　to　be　more　than　a　shadow。　whatever　it　was；　nothing　like　it　has　been　seenby　anyone　since。　because　of　such　vagueness　their　reports　were　generally　ignored　byacademics。

after　their　record…breaking　descent　of　1934；　beebe　lost　interest　in　diving　and　moved　on　toother　adventures；　but　barton　persevered。　to　his　credit；　beebe　always　told　anyone　who　askedthat　barton　was　the　real　brains　behind　the　enterprise；　but　barton　seemed　unable　to　step　fromthe　shadows。　he；　too；　wrote　thrilling　accounts　of　their　underwater　adventures　and　even　starredin　a　hollywood　movie　called　titans　of　the　deep；　featuring　a　bathysphere　and　many　excitingand　largely　fictionalized　encounters　with　aggressive　giant　squid　and　the　like。　he　evenadvertised　camel　cigarettes　（“they　don’t　give　me　jittery　nerves”）。　in　1948　he　increased　thedepth　record　by　50　percent；　with　a　dive　to　4；500　feet　in　the　pacific　ocean　near　california；　butthe　world　seemed　determined　to　overlook　him。　one　newspaper　reviewer　of　titans　of　the　deepactually　thought　the　star　of　the　film　was　beebe。　nowadays；　barton　is　lucky　to　get　a　mention。

at　all　events；　he　was　about　to　be　prehensively　eclipsed　by　a　father…and…son　team　fromswitzerland；　auguste　and　jacques　piccard；　who　were　designing　a　new　type　of　probe　called　abathyscaphe　（meaning　“deep　boat”）。　christened　trieste；　after　the　italian　city　in　which　it　wasbuilt；　the　new　device　maneuvered　independently；　though　it　did　little　more　than　just　go　up　anddown。　on　one　of　its　first　dives；　in　early　1954；　it　descended　to　below　13；287　feet；　nearly　threetimes　barton’s　record…breaking　dive　of　six　years　earlier。　but　deep…sea　dives　required　a　greatdeal　of　costly　support；　and　the　piccards　were　gradually　going　broke。

in　1958；　they　did　a　deal　with　the　u。s。　navy；　which　gave　the　navy　ownership　but　left　themin　control。　now　flush　with　funds；　the　piccards　rebuilt　the　vessel；　giving　it　walls　five　inchesthick　and　shrinking　the　windows　to　just　two　inches　in　diameter—little　more　than　peepholes。

but　it　was　now　strong　enough　to　withstand　truly　enormous　pressures；　and　in　january　1960jacques　piccard　and　lieutenant　don　walsh　of　the　u。s。　navy　sank　slowly　to　the　bottom　of　theocean’s　deepest　canyon；　the　mariana　trench；　some　250　miles　off　guam　in　the　western　pacific（and　discovered；　not　incidentally；　by　harry　hess　with　his　fathometer）。　it　took　just　under　fourhours　to　fall　35；820　feet；　or　almost　seven　miles。　although　the　pressure　at　that　depth　wasnearly　17；000　pounds　per　square　inch；　they　noticed　with　surprise　that　they　disturbed　a　bottom…dwelling　flatfish　just　as　they　touched　down。　they　had　no　facilities　for　taking　photographs；　sothere　is　no　visual　record　of　the　event。

after　just　twenty　minutes　at　the　world’s　deepest　point；　they　returned　to　the　surface。　it　wasthe　only　occasion　on　which　human　beings　have　gone　so　deep。

forty　years　later；　the　question　that　naturally　occurs　is：　why　has　no　one　gone　back　since？　tobegin　with；　further　dives　were　vigorously　opposed　by　vice　admiral　hyman　g。　rickover；　aman　who　had　a　lively　temperament；　forceful　views；　and；　most　pertinently；　control　of　thedepartmental　checkbook。　he　thought　underwater　exploration　a　waste　of　resources　and　pointedout　that　the　navy　was　not　a　research　institute。　the　nation；　moreover；　was　about　to　beefully　preoccupied　with　space　travel　and　the　quest　to　send　a　man　to　the　moon；　which　madedeep　sea　investigations　seem　unimportant　and　rather　old…fashioned。　but　the　decisiveconsideration　was　that　the　trieste　descent　didn’t　actually　achieve　much。　as　a　navy　officialexplained　years　later：　“we　didn’t　learn　a　hell　of　a　lot　from　it；　other　than　that　we　could　do　it。

why　do　it　again？”　it　was；　in　short；　a　long　way　to　go　to　find　a　flatfish；　and　expensive　too。

repeating　the　exercise　today；　it　has　been　estimated；　would　cost　at　least　100　million。

when　underwater　researchers　realized　that　the　navy　had　no　intention　of　pursuing　apromised　exploration　program；　there　was　a　pained　outcry。　partly　to　placate　its　critics；　thenavy　provided　funding　for　a　more　advanced　submersible；　to　be　operated　by　the　woods　holeoceanographic　institution　of　massachusetts。　called　alvin；　in　somewhat　contracted　honor　ofthe　oceanographer　allyn　c。　vine；　it　would　be　a　fully　maneuverable　minisubmarine；　though　itwouldn’t　go　anywhere　near　as　deep　as　the　trieste。　there　was　just　one　problem：　the　designerscouldn’t　find　anyone　willing　to　build　it。　according　to　william　j。　broad　in　the　universebelow：　“no　big　pany　like　general　dynamics；　which　made　submarines　for　the　navy；wanted　to　take　on　a　project　disparaged　by　both　the　bureau　of　ships　and　admiral　rickover；　thegods　of　naval　patronage。”　eventually；　not　to　say　improbably；　alvin　was　constructed　bygeneral　mills；　the　food　pany；　at　a　factory　where　it　made　the　machines　to　producebreakfast　cereals。

as　for　what　else　was　down　there；　people　really　had　very　little　idea。　well　into　the　1950s；　thebest　maps　available　to　oceanographers　were　overwhelmingly　based　on　a　little　detail　fromscattered　surveys　going　back　to　1929　grafted　onto；　essentially　an　ocean　of　guesswork。　thenavy　had　excellent　charts　with　which　to　guide　submarines　through　canyons　and　aroundguyots；　but　it　didn’t　wish　such　information　to　fall　into　soviet　hands；　so　it　kept　its　knowledgeclassified。　academics　therefore　had　to　make　do　with　sketchy　and　antiquated　surveys　or　relyon　hopeful　surmise。　even　today　our　knowledge　of　the　ocean　floors　remains　remarkably　lowresolution。　if　you　look　at　the　moon　with　a　standard　backyard　telescope　you　will　seesubstantial　craters—fracastorious；　blancanus；　zach；　planck；　and　many　others　familiar　to　anylunar　scientist—that　would　be　unknown　if　they　were　on　our　own　ocean　floors。　we　have　bettermaps　of　mars　than　we　do　of　our　own　seabeds。

at　the　surface　level；　investigative　techniques　have　also　been　a　trifle　ad　hoc。　in　1994；　thirty…four　thousand　ice　hockey　gloves　were　swept　overboard　from　a　korean　cargo　ship　d