A high school subtitute usually means your teacher’s sick and you get a free period to screw around. But, for one student, its meaning is a little more literal. Eighteen-year-old Justin Beckerman could be considered the reincarnation of Thomas Edison.
In his brief life, Justin’s created a remote controlled cleaning machine, a helmet home theatre, and now a fully functional one-man submarine that can dive as deep as nine metres. It kind of puts your bicarb soda volcano to shame.
Starting with a 3m long drain pipe that was capped at both ends using copious amounts of marine-grade waterproof glue, Justin added ballast tanks to allow the sub to dive and rise, drive motors, a communications system including audio and video, and ultra-bright strobe lights that allow him to explore the depths of his local lake.
The submarine took just over six months to design and build, and because Justin has spent his life scavenging electronics and components, he estimates the total cost to be just shy of $US1000. That’s money he could have spent on a used car to impress his classmates, but in the long run, having “built a working submarine at age 18” on his resume will certainly impress more influential persons. [New Jersey On-line via Damn Geeky]
Pictures: New Jersey On-line