A Window Under the Sea

By Fernando Catta-Preta

In Jules Verne’s “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” Captain Nemo shows guests the wonders of the ocean floor through a large, round window on his submarine. It’s a fantastic image and a classic icon from the sci-fi genre, but could a window on a deep-sea vehicle work in real life?

Typically, the answer to that question would be “no” — the water pressure against the external hull of any vessel at extreme depths is too strong for a large window, and special, thick, cone-shaped glass would be needed to prevent a window from being pushed through the steel hull of the submarine. Due to how dark it is in the depths of the ocean, very strong lights and a practical way to clear the area of floating particulate matter would also be necessary. A large circular window with a clear, vivid view of the undersea realm would be nearly impossible to accomplish anywhere outside the confines of Nemo’s fictitious submarine.

But, if you’re an engineer at Northrop Grumman, the answer to that question is “yes.” The team at Dolphin Works — our Annapolis, Maryland, lab — found a way to make it work.