Bath time for a carrier
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The Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) testing out her countermeasure washdown system.
The washdown system is designed to primarily counter NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) threats. It draws seawater up through powerful pumps and disperses it through a system of nuzzles mouthed flush with the flight deck. The system can activate across the entire deck at once or be done by individual sections to wash contaminants off the flight deck. At its maximum, an aircraft carrier can discharge up to 20,000 gallons of water per minute if the entire system is activated.
Science with Navy General Board:
Generally, when we discuss this system someone always asks what good the system does at washing off nuclear contamination if you are drawing radioactive water out of the ocean.
Time for a little fun fact about water and nuclear radiation! Water is an exception shield against radiation. Generally, every 70mm (about 2.75") of water between you and the source of radiation cuts the radiation levels in half. If you were to swim to the bottom of your pool, you likely would be safer than you were bobbing on the surface as the water would shield you from normal background radiation that surrounds you at all times!
For a warship NBC washdown system, the water is being drawn in several meters/feet under the water's surface. This mean's that the ship is utilizing cleaner, less contaminated water to wash the decks off.
- Navy General Board See less
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Interesting.
