Comments on: Hunting Submarines Via Gravity Is A Tough Errand

By: Jake G

Jake G — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 22:49:15 +0000

In reply to Antti.

Your comment seems in bad faith…..

Couldn’t help it you provided the perfect setup for that pun, and I had to take it.

By: Yet Another Robert Smith

Yet Another Robert Smith — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 05:03:30 +0000

I would have thought it would be cheaper and easier to bribe someone with access to the command and control system.

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:47:54 +0000

Gravity detection? Am I missing something? No matter how heavy a submarine is, since it is neutrally buoyant, wouldn’t it have the exact same average density (and hence gravity) as the water it displaces?

By: Vince Mulhollon

Vince Mulhollon — Sun, 31 May 2026 16:11:02 +0000

Its worth pointing out that a sub that’s as thermally efficient as a whale would be hard to distinguish thermally from a whale. Subs are like “tens of megawatts” whereas whales are like “tens of kilowatts” so there’s plenty of technical room for efficient whale sized underwater drones.

The other problem not being discussed is single point instant contact confirmation vs long term statistical analysis. Whales don’t travel in a straight line at constant speed from a sub base to a patrol box, even if the vehicle has a precise match to the thermal and acoustic signature of a whale.

Also no one is talking about neutrons which more or less drip out of reactors along with neutrinos. Probably a lot easier to pinpoint neutrino sources than pinpoint graviton sources.

By: Vince Mulhollon

Vince Mulhollon — Sun, 31 May 2026 16:04:11 +0000

In reply to Christopher Bennett.

Exactly. Using the 4 MJ example at 20 knots, 4 MJ applied perfectly (good luck) would melt about a dozen kilos of ice. But its not spread perfectly and its zipping along at 20 knots. It would be like trying to melt the snow off a driveway by making one pass with a car relying on car exhaust, its not going to be visible.

In theory there is pattern analysis, if every time a sub passes under the ice a hundredth of an inch of ice melts, maybe with overly precise guidance it would be possible to melt a visible channel in the ice over a decade or so. Like if there’s a narrow underwater channel and they always go within a few feet of the precise center of the channel for decades.

Its not a realistic problem.

By: The Formal Goat

The Formal Goat — Sun, 31 May 2026 10:53:56 +0000

In reply to Paul. Wouldn't that just stabilize the inside of the submarine and cause the outside to do whatever?

By: CRJEEA

CRJEEA — Sun, 31 May 2026 08:04:32 +0000

I wonder how good a home made gravimeter could be.
A weight on a spring, measure it with an interferometer, count the cars driving past outside perhaps.