Ictíneo II

Key takeaways

Ictíneo II belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ictíneo II to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ictíneo II from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ictíneo II was a pioneering 19th century submarine. It was launched in the Port of Barcelona on October 2, 1864 by the self-taught Spanish engineer Narcis Monturiol. It was the first air independent and combustion-powered submarine, and the first submarine to overcome the basic problems of machine powered underwater navigation.

History The Ictíneo II was originally intended as an improved version of the handpowered Ictíneo I. The Spanish Navy pledged support to Monturiol but did not actually supply it, so he had to raise funds himself, writing a letter to the nation to encourage a popular subscription which raised 300,000 pesetas from citizens of Spain and was used to form the company La Navegación Submarina to develop the Ictíneo II. The Ictíneo II made her maiden voyage under human power on 20 May 1865, submerging to 27.5 metres (90 ft). After reading about the American Civil War and the attempts at submarine construction such as the CSS Hunley, the financially desperate Monturiol wrote to the US Secretary of the Navy; however, the Civil War had ended by the time the Secretary responded. Dissatisfied with the limitations placed on him by human propulsion, Monturiol realized that the only option was steam power, but contemporary steam engines required a fire which was not an option for a submarine. To this end he invented an air independent engine, which ran on a chemical reaction fueled by peroxide that provided its own oxygen for combustion. Monturiol intended to develop the submarine for its commercial use in the exploitation of coral reefs. Later he installed a gun inside the submarine's hull and performed a number of trials involving underwater shots on predetermined targets from 22 December to 30 December 1865, but this failed to impress the military authorities. Monturiol envisaged a new vessel, custom built to house his new engine, which would be entirely built of metal with the engine housed in its own separate compartment. However, due to the state of his finances, construction of a new vessel was out of the question, and instead he managed to raise enough funds to fit the engine into the Ictíneo II. On 22 October 1867 the Ictíneo II made its first surface journey under steam power, averaging 3.5 knots (6.5 km/h) with a top speed of 4.5 knots (8.3 km/h). Two months later, on 14 December, Monturiol submerged the vessel and ran his chemical engine, but with a quite slow speed of 2.5 knots (4.6 km/h). The submarine could dive up to 27.5 metres (90 ft) and could stay underwater for seven and a half hours. On 23 December, La Navegación Submarina went bankrupt, having completely exhausted its funds. Monturiol had spent 100,000 duros – which could have purchased several frigates, or 160 kilograms (350 lb) of gold – and could attract no more investment. The chief creditor called in his debt, and Monturiol was forced to surrender the Ictíneo II, which was his sole asset. The creditor subsequently sold it on to a businessman, and the authorities, who taxed all ships, issued its new owner with a tax bill. Rather than pay, he dismantled the entire submarine and sold it for scrap. The ship's surface motor was removed to a textile factory; the viewports ended up as bathroom windows.

Description

The Ictíneo II was 14 metres (46 ft) long, 2 metres (6.6 ft) wide, and 3 metres (9.8 ft) high. Her displacement was 46 tonnes and her interior volume was 29 cubic metres (1,000 cu ft). She was built of olive wood with oak reinforcements, and a 2 mm thick layer of copper. Her upper side had a deck 1.3 metres (4.3 ft) wide and a hatch with three glazed portholes 200 mm (7.9 in) in diameter and 100 mm (3.9 in) thick glass blocks. The submarine could be steered from the conning tower by means of an endless screw gear. Four ballast tanks of 8 cubic metres (280 cu ft) capacity were located symmetrically on each side in the free flooding areas between the streamlined outer light hull and the inner pressure hull. The ballast tanks would be flooded at will to submerge and surfacing was achieved by forcing air into them with a pump. Pitch during diving was controlled by a weight which could be moved longitudinally along a rail, remotely controlled by the helmsman. The submarine also had an emergency mechanism intended to jettison the ballast to allow it to surface quickly. The most important innovation in the Ictíneo II was its air independent propulsion for underwater navigation. A reaction of zinc, manganese dioxide and potassium chlorate heated the boiler of a steam engine to provide propulsion and illumination and the oxygen released by the reaction could be used for breathing. Monturiol purchased a six-cylinder steam engine and divided it in half; one half was powered by a coal-burning boiler for surface propulsion while the other half was powered by a separate boiler heated by his chemical mixture.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ictíneo II

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ictíneo II claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ictíneo II before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ictíneo II ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ictíneo II

In research: Ictíneo II appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ictíneo II in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ictíneo II is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1864 ships, 19th-century submarines, Experimental submarines, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ictíneo II outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Ictíneo II in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ictíneo II means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ictíneo II out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ictíneo II in simple terms?

Ictíneo II was a pioneering 19th century submarine. It was launched in the Port of Barcelona on October 2, 1864 by the self-taught Spanish engineer Narcis Monturiol.

Why does Ictíneo II matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ictíneo II?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ictíneo II.