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posted by CoolHand on Sunday April 26 2015, @08:38AM   Printer-friendly

Ben Yeager writes in Outside Magazine that Italian explorer Alex Bellini plans to travel to Greenland’s west coast, pick an iceberg, and live on it for a year as it melts out in the Atlantic. But it is a precarious idea. Bellini will be completely isolated, and his adopted dwelling is liable to roll or fall apart at any moment, thrusting him into the icy sea or crushing him under hundreds of tons of ice. His solution: an indestructible survival capsule built by an aeronautics company that specializes in tsunami-proof escape pods.

"I knew since the beginning I needed to minimize the risk. An iceberg can flip over, and those events can be catastrophic.” Bellini plans to use lightweight, indestructible floating capsules, or “personal safety systems" made from aircraft-grade aluminum in what’s called a continuous monocoque structure, an interlocking frame of aluminum spars that evenly distribute force, underneath a brightly painted and highly visible aluminum shell. The inner frame can be stationary or mounted on roller balls so it rotates, allowing the passengers to remain upright at all times.

Aeronautical engineer Julian Sharpe, founder of Survival Capsule, got the idea for his capsules after the 2004 Indonesian tsunami. He believes fewer people would have died had some sort of escape pod existed. Sharpe hopes the products will be universal—in schools, retirement homes, and private residences, anywhere there is severe weather. The product appeals to Bellini because it’s strong enough to survive a storm at sea or getting crushed between two icebergs.

Bellini will spend almost all of his time in the capsule with the hatch closed, which will pose major challenges because he'll have to stay active without venturing out onto a slippery, unstable iceberg. If it flips, he’ll have no time to react. “Any step away from [the iceberg] will be in unknown territory,” says Bellini. “You want to stretch your body. But then you risk your life.”

 
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  • (Score: 2) by AnonTechie on Sunday April 26 2015, @09:23AM

    by AnonTechie (2275) on Sunday April 26 2015, @09:23AM (#175306) Journal

    The lure of 15 minutes of fame seems irresistible to humans.

    --
    Albert Einstein - "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by archshade on Sunday April 26 2015, @11:00AM

    by archshade (3664) on Sunday April 26 2015, @11:00AM (#175317)

    The lure of 15 minutes of fame seems irresistible to some humans.

    FTFY

    Many humans will attempt to avoid fame [citation needed]. I have no desire to be famous, and will go out of my way to avoid exposing myself to the public at large. This seems clear as in the modern world there are some very easy ways to become moderately famous (get a shopping trolley, a kitten, some stairs and a Youtube account).

    Fame to me is the cost of success. If I rise to greatness in my field I hope to be (financially) compensated for my work, knowledge that I have made contribution to the human race and gaining respect of my extended peer group would be nice. Fame is the bad thing that comes with these for me. I really do not understand the hollow celebrity culture that is all around, This seems to have all the down and very little up (The celebrities seem to have enough money for a v.comfortable life).