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Since 23 June, a team of footballers and their coach are stuck in a cave in Tham Luang, in northern Thailand. Elon Musk, who is often quoted on Sciencepost because he is the head of SpaceX (a company specializing in astronautics and spaceflight), proposed a solution and sent engineers on the spot.
The context of the situation
The situation became dramatic when the helpers realized that the oxygen in the cave was reduced drastically . A seasoned diver, former SEAL of the Thai Navy, died after bringing oxygen to the cave. He lost consciousness on the way home after the oxygen levels dropped in the room.
Access to this cave presents major risks for rescue teams :
" In underground diving, (…) you are in a tunnel filled with water, you must continue or return where you started. When you are in a cave, you face darkness as you have never known before, it is total darkness ", said one of the divers.
Finally, the services weather announced a very high risk of rain this weekend, the water in the cave will rise and could drown the children.
The solutions proposed by the boss of SpaceX
The boss of SpaceX today announced on Twitter his intention to help and propose a solution to save the stranded children.
Maybe worth trying: insert a 1m nylon tube diameter (or shorter set of tubes for most difficult sections) through cave network & inflate with air like a bouncy castle.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 6, 2018
" Maybe this is an air tunnel underwater against a cave roof and self-conform to odd shapes like the 70cm hole. worth a try: insert a 1 m diameter nylon tube (or a shorter set of tubes for the most difficult sections) through the cave system and inflate it with water. look like an inflatable castle. This should create an underwater tunnel against the roof of the cave and automatically adapt to particular shapes like the 70 cm hole . "
In addition to the solution of the inflatable hose, Elon Musk has sent on the spot engineers from SpaceX and another of these companies: Boring Co . This company specializes in tunnels. Elon Musk said he was " happy to help if there was a way to do it " on Twitter.
One of the other tracks on which engineers have to work is the pumping water that blocks the exit. So far, the results have been unsuccessful. Elon Musk is elusive on the subject, because he does not know " not if the flow of the pump is limited by electrical energy or if the pumps are too small " and " There is probably many complexities that are hard to appreciate without being there in person "
Sources: businessinsider, Sciencepost
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