engineering

Subterrene

Subterrene is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Subterrene rather than just read about it. In short: A subterrene (Latin: subterrina, Russian: Подземная лодка), alternatively subterrine, is a vehicle that travels underground (through solid rock or soil) much as a submarine travels underwater, either by mechanical drilling, or by melting its way forward. Subterrenes existed first in fiction as mechanical drillers, with real-world thermal designs and examples following in the second half of the 20th century.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

A subterrene (Latin: subterrina, Russian: Подземная лодка), alternatively subterrine, is a vehicle that travels underground (through solid rock or soil) much as a submarine travels underwater, either by mechanical drilling, or by melting its way forward. Subterrenes existed first in fiction as mechanical drillers, with real-world thermal designs and examples following in the second half of the 20th century. Fictional subterrenes are often depicted as cylindrical in shape with conical drill heads at one or both ends, sometimes with some kind of tank-tread for propulsion, and described either as leaving an empty tunnel behind them, or as filling the space behind it with mining debris, as is the case with the Mole from the British puppet TV series Thunderbirds. The plausibility of such machines has declined with the advent of the real-world tunnel boring machines, which demonstrate the reality of the boring task. Tunnel boring machine themselves are not usually considered to be subterrenes, possibly because they lack the secondary attributes – mobility and independence – that are normally applied to vehicles. A real-world, mobile subterrene must work thermally, using very high temperature and immense pressure to melt and push through rock. The front of the machine is equipped with a stationary drill tip which is kept at 700–930 °C (1,300–1,700 °F). The molten rock is pushed around the edges as the vehicle is forced forward, and cools to a glass-like lining of the tunnel. Massive amounts of energy are required to heat the drill head, supplied via nuclear power or electricity. Patents issued in the 1970s indicate that U.S. scientists had planned to use nuclear power to liquefy lithium metal and circulate it to the front of the machine (drill). An onboard nuclear reactor can permit a truly independent subterrene, but cooling the reactor is a difficult problem. Online information presents research that was funded by the United States Government for the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratories University of California, Los Alamos, New Mexico for a project Camelot under the heading Systems and Cost Analysis for a Nuclear Subterrene Tunneling Machine. A patent was subsequently issued under number 3,693,731 on 26 September 1972. The design concepts fall into similar designs of current technology of the nuclear submarine fleet and existing tunnel boring technology as used in the Channel Tunnel between England and France, but with the added feature of melting rock for the tunnel wall lining.

Advantages In theory, tunnels can be built much more cheaply and quickly because of their reduced complexity, equipment costs and operational overhead. A smooth glass-lined tunnel wall is created as a result of the process. This can further reduce costs and provides an insulating barrier and basic support structure.

Disadvantages These machines inherently use a very large amount of energy. Unknown safety and performance records The soil still has to be removed from the tunnel.

See also Cultivator No. 6 The Mole (Thunderbirds) Underground rocket Tunnel boring machine

References

External links Rob Arndt. Ritter Midgard-Schlange (1934–1935). Strange Vehicles of Pre-war Germany The Third Reich (1928–1945) Use of the Subterrene for Military Drilling Applications Systems and Cost Analysis for a Nuclear Subterrene Tunneling Machine (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Subterrene

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Subterrene claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, 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 Subterrene 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 Subterrene 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 Subterrene

In research: Subterrene appears in engineering 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 Subterrene 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: Subterrene is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Engineering vehicles, Experimental vehicles, Tunnel construction, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Subterrene 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.

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How to study Subterrene in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Subterrene 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 Subterrene out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Subterrene in simple terms?

Why does Subterrene matter?

Because it connects several engineering 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 Subterrene?

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 Subterrene.