"Remember the last scene in "Titanic," when the ship rolls ninety degrees before sinking into the cold icy depths? There is a boat in San Diego that performs this stunt on a regular basis -- except for the sinking part. FLIP (or Floating Instrument Platform) is an ocean research vessel that resembles a 350-foot baseball bat. After it's towed out to sea, a majority of the ship fills with water, turning it on its side. That explains the need for beds on the walls, refrigerators on casters, and some flexibility on the part of the crew. However, FLIP is far more stable, and much less noisy, than a regular ship. As a result, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego uses FLIP to study how sound waves behave underwater. But we really like to watch it turn over -- check out this quicktime movie."
Categories: WeirdScience
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