Experts at the State Marine Technology University in St. Petersburg have invented an "underwater bicycle" or Blue Space that is pedal-powered. Most likely, this will pave the way for studying the underwater world easier in the future like bicycle riding. Experts insist that the muscle power of human legs is quite sufficient for an underwater tour.

At present, almost all tourist submarines are equipped with propeller engines driven by high capacity accumulators to sail at a speed of 2-3 knots or 4-6 kilometers an hour. The price of such a vehicle often exceeds 100,000 U.S. dollars.

In short, only rich citizens and professional researchers have access to them. Is their any possibility of developing a vehicle without using expensive and heavy accumulators?

The head of the Blue Space project Vladimir Taradonov says that attempts to develop an underwater bicycle have been made many times, but all ended in failure. Even the efforts of two people proved to be insufficient to make the vehicle to sail underwater.

"An ordinary person uses up 300-400 watts riding a bicycle in a forest or a on the road. This means two people use up 600-800 watts but they cannot sail underwater with such a capacity because the density of water is 1,000 times higher than that of the atmosphere.

This is the reason why neither Americans, nor South Koreans, Japanese or Australians could develop an underwater bicycle using the traditional methods," Vladimir Taradonov said.

The Russian inventors rejected the traditional propeller engine and used a rotor-fluidic engine. Owing to the work of rotor engines water is sucked through the fore holes and forced to flow away from the nozzles.

In short, the Russian experts have used Coanda effect owing to which low pressure is generated before the vehicle. As a result the underwater vehicle sails forward towards low pressure, as if it is pushing itself.

According to Vladimir Taradonov, in the past years, scientists have formulated a solid theory of underwater vehicles and conducted a large number of experiments while working on the project. They patented 5 inventions during the development of the Blue Space underwater vehicle.

The price of an underwater vehicle is no more than the price of a medium-sized car. The English-language website of the Blue Space has been receiving a large number of letters from all over the world. Foreign investors have offered to buy the project and start production abroad. All are impatiently waiting for the display of the underwater bicycle.

"At present, we are perfecting the vehicle. An experimental vehicle is ready by 80 percent. It is being built at the "Admiralteiskie Verfi" shipyard which is cooperating with our university.

The vehicle is 3.5 meters long, 2 meters wide and 1.2 meters high. It reminds of a car cabin. We are making a vehicle for two persons, but there is a modification that can carry up to 8 people," Vladimir Taradonov added.

The vehicle carrying two persons will be tested in the summer. If this is successful, the first underwater bicycles will be supplied to marine resorts.

Source: Voice of Russia