The Town Scryer is a mixed bag of humor, socio-political observations and ephemera from the perspective of a eclectic Pagan veteran of the counter-culture.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Independence is Crumbling



     The U.S. Navy's newest warship is slowly disintegrating.


     From Bloomberg.com:

          "The U.S. Navy has discovered “aggressive” corrosion in Austal Ltd. (ASB)’s first new combat ship designed for operating close to shore.

The corrosion is in the propulsion areas of the USS Independence, the Littoral Combat Ship built by the Mobile, Alabama-based subsidiary ofAustralia’s Austal and General Dynamics Corp. (GD).....
Permanent repair will require drydocking the ship and removing its “water jets,” a key component of the propulsion system, the Navy said in a written statement to congressional appropriations committees provided to Bloomberg News."

    According to Wired Magazine's Danger Room, the problem is a bit more exotic than mere rust.

    " There are technical terms for this kind of disintegration. Austal USA, Independence’s Alabama-based builder, calls it “galvanic corrosion.” Civilian scientists know it as “electrolysis.” It’s what occurs when “two dissimilar metals, after being in electrical contact with one another, corrode at different rates,” Austal explained in a statement.

“That suggests to me the metal is completely gone, not rusted,” naval analyst Raymond Pritchett wrote ofIndependence’s problem. "

     More at the embedded links.


     Be seeing you?

    

1 comment:

  1. Alright, the notion that such a tellingly-named vessel is dissolving due to the instability of its own plating is just over the top. True, I know, but oh my goodness.

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