The Maverick Design Choices That May Have Doomed Titan
Submersibles must withstand the deep ocean's crushing pressures, which squeeze with equal force from all sides. At Titanic's depth - two and a half miles down - every square inch of a submersible experiences three tons of pressure.
A spherical hull distributes the stress evenly, making it the best shape for resisting the compressive forces of the abyss. Any other shape, experts said, will tend to deform unevenly.