Jiaolong's submarine tells the story of deep diving. Seven kilometers of seabed voyage is like driving at night.

October 20, 2014: "The submarine, like the elder brother on land, will not only open the Jiaolong, but also repair it like the maintenance staff of 4S shop." Ye Cong, the chief diver of the "Chinese Manned Deep Diving Hero" and "Jiaolong", recently visited the Chongqing Library to uncover the mysterious deep-sea diving. He used humorous words to explain professional techniques and aroused applause on the spot.

How does Jiaolong work?

It's like taking an elevator for 3 hours and diving 7,000 meters into the deep sea.

"Nine days to catch the moon and five oceans to catch turtles" is a dream of many years. On June 30, 2012, after 51 dives, Jiaolong came to the surface and completed all the tests of 7000 meters sea test, which also made this dream come true.

What is the concept of diving 7,000 meters into the deep sea? "Unlike flying on a spacecraft, the Jiaolong will not lose weight when it goes down or up. The speed is from 0.6 to 0.75 meters per second, the same as that of the elevator. Ye Cong said that the concept of time for each dive into the deep sea is like taking a three-hour elevator to dive into the deep sea, carrying out six hours of work, and then taking a three-hour elevator back to the sea.

Jiaolong is like an elevator. Underwater communication is like playing with Wechat. Ye Cong said Jiaolong uses high-speed underwater acoustic communication technology. Submersible and mother ship can transmit text, voice and pictures, but video can not be transmitted. "I want to tell you an important fact. Manned submersibles can let ordinary people go to the bottom of the sea. They have all kinds of equipment on the bottom of the sea. Like spaceships and space stations in the sky, there are manned submersibles on the bottom of the sea and workstations that live on the bottom for a long time."

What is the view of the deep sea?

It's dark, like driving at night.

"Jiaolong has reached 7062 meters in deep submergence and is already in the super-abyss of the ocean." Ye Cong said that before Jiaolong, China's deep diving depth was less than 1000 meters. Only 2% of the oceans cover more than 7,000 meters. Unlike the words described so romantically, the so-called trend to dark blue, in the actual experience of divers is towards darkness.

In the process of diving, the outside world that Jiaolong can see after 200 meters is already very dark. "Many people will ask me what I can see inside Jiaolong. Everyone knows meteors. The creatures that Jiaolong can see under the sea are like meteors in the sky."

Ye Cong said that in the deep sea navigation, mainly rely on Jiaolong's head more than 10 searchlights, like driving at night, can only see the distance of more than 10 meters ahead.

Is there a monster in science fiction? The underwater world described in sci-fi works is fantastic and dangerous. Whether there are giant creatures in the deep sea of the real world is a matter of concern to many people. Ye Cong said that over 2,000 meters of deep sea, there are no whales, sharks and other giant creatures, only some very light-colored small fish. "The most common creatures we see in the deep sea are sponges, which have strange shapes, some like silk stockings, some like wine glasses." Ye Cong said that many scientists are so excited to see different creatures swimming in the deep sea that they can't help exclaiming and dancing like children.

How to become a submarine?

Major Examination of Psychological Response Ability

Ye Cong said that there are only three qualified submariners in China, namely, he and two other colleagues, who are known as the "Troika" of the Chinese manned submersible.

In September last year, Ye Cong's China Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Group Company publicly recruited the second batch of professional submariners. Age requires men under 35 years old and women under 30 years old; physical fitness as long as it meets the physical conditions of ordinary volunteers; professionally speaking, only science and engineering, mainly ship, machinery, electronics, hydraulic control, temporarily not open to liberal arts students.

Finally, six people were selected successfully. Among them, 2 are girls, the youngest is a post-90s girl.

"Psychological assessment is the most important part of selection." Ye Cong said that the assessment was conducted mainly through questionnaires and on-site tests, because most of the candidates had not undergone psychological training, so they would set up some topics to examine the ability to respond in narrow and claustrophobic situations and in emergency or emergency situations.