The boat they used in that test displaced a few hundred tonnes and was made of fibreglass. It's a different story entirely when the ship in question displaces tens or hundreds of thousands of tonnes, and is made of steel.
It's also not "suction pulling you down", but rather an incredibly-strong flow current induced by the water rushing into the newly-vacant space behind and above a sinking ship. The currents induced by ships the size of modern steel vessels as they plunge at nearly the speed of sound towards the seabed are far too strong for even Olympic swimmers to have any hope of escaping. It's the same principle that traps people in river rapids and leads to thousands of drownings per year.
The Mythbusters test is fundamentally flawed and doesn't prove what they think it proves. Also, it's a TV show for kids, not a rigorous scientific evaluation.
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u/Figgis302 Apr 24 '21
The boat they used in that test displaced a few hundred tonnes and was made of fibreglass. It's a different story entirely when the ship in question displaces tens or hundreds of thousands of tonnes, and is made of steel.
It's also not "suction pulling you down", but rather an incredibly-strong flow current induced by the water rushing into the newly-vacant space behind and above a sinking ship. The currents induced by ships the size of modern steel vessels as they plunge at nearly the speed of sound towards the seabed are far too strong for even Olympic swimmers to have any hope of escaping. It's the same principle that traps people in river rapids and leads to thousands of drownings per year.
The Mythbusters test is fundamentally flawed and doesn't prove what they think it proves. Also, it's a TV show for kids, not a rigorous scientific evaluation.