Submarine crew visits physics class

November 15, 2011
Filed under Centerpiece, Featured, News, Top headline

By August McKernan

Hundreds of miles beneath the sea, there lurks a creature unlike any other.  Made of steel and powered by nuclear energy, it waits for the opportune moment to strike.

This particular beast houses not just one heart, but hundreds.  The crew of the USS Boise, a Los Angeles type submarine, has traveled across oceans and seas on Navy missions.  A few members have also recently crossed into Borah campus to deliver a presentation on the submarine and its nuclear power plant.

Captain Brian Sittlow reported that the USS Boise cost approximately $2.6 billion.  He continued laughingly, “The submarine is 19 years old and we still have half a tank of gas.” That fact is mainly because the submarine is run on nuclear energy.

Keith Mercier, expert on nuclear energy, described how it is transformed into useable energy.  In essence, the crew uses uranium to boil water.  That water then creates “steam, heat, and pressure” which spins the turbines.

“Our nuclear power plant is very safe,” Sittlow said earnestly.  He reported that radiation is contained within the submarine and shielded from the crew to extreme measures.  They use a combination of lead, water, and oil to protect themselves. Sittlow revealed, “You, today, walking out in the sun…receive more radiation than we do in a six-month period.”  He went on to say that “safety is our highest priority.”

Mercier said, “Living conditions on the ship aren’t as bad as people think.”  According to Mercier, crew members generally have an 18-hour work day and that it is surprisingly easy to communicate with the outside world.

Crew member Charles Williams explained that they can download emails and stay connected to family and friends fairly easy.

Members of the USS Boise travel around the world performing various missions for the Navy.  They perform counter drug operations and launch mines under water completely undetected to the world above.  Captain Sittlow said that he went into this branch of the Navy because it is “the cutting edge of technology and professionalism in the Navy.”