S.S Great Britain

FONT: TheNautiGal

For the Poetography Group "Glass"

G for the Alphabet Site

This is not a reflection...

Photo is taken looking up from the bottom of the Dry Dock through 2 layers of amour plate glass with water flowing between them

One of my favourite places in the world. Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel is one of my Top Five Heros

S.S.Great Britain

Brunel’s S.S.Great Britain is one of the most important historic ships in the world.

When she was launched in 1843, she was called ‘the greatest experiment since the Creation’.

No one had ever designed so vast a ship, nor had the vision to build it of iron. Brunel fitted her with a 1000 hp steam engine, the most powerful yet used at sea. Perhaps most daring of all, Brunel rejected using conventional paddle wheels to drive his ship. Instead, he gave the ss Great Britain a screw propeller. This was the newest invention in maritime technology. By seeing how to combine these key innovations, Brunel created a ship that changed history.

www.ssgreatbritain.org

Keeping the Dock Dry

The Dry Dock has also undergone a transformation. Moisture is the enemy of the ss Great Britain and her iron hull is extremely vulnerable to corrosion. To keep the air as dry as possible the Dry Dock has been sealed by a huge water-line glass plate. The plate surrounds the ship, flooded with a shallow layer of water to give the illusion of being afloat. This also acts as an insulator, helping to save between 10% and 20% in energy bills. Beneath the plate the air is kept dry by a giant dehumidification plant (its sister plant lies inside the ship’s hull) which ensures the atmosphere around the hull is maintained at a relative humidity of 20%.

This means that the air in the Dry Dock is now as arid as that of the Arizona Desert!

The water never touches her and it flows between two layers of amour plate glass

www.ssgreatbritain.org/story/dry-dock

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If you feel like seeing more of my pics of her .... the link below will take you to her last time I was Home in March 2011.

snowdropsanglosaxonchronicals.shutterfly.com/pictures/978

EXPLORED !