A DIY Craftsman Built His Own Submarine. And It Actually Works

With full buoyancy control!

Building a submarine at home may sound absurd, but when it comes to YouTube, nothing is impossible. In this video, the craftsman YouTuber Matthew Perks, better known online as DIY Perks for his DIY consumer electronics builds, demonstrates that everything is achievable with a little ambition, the necessary gear, and proper engineering.

He explains that a full-sized submarine is designed to be neutrally buoyant, meaning that its overall sealed weight is roughly equal to the total amount of water it displaces. In order to descend, air is squeezed inside a ballast tank, allowing some of the surrounding water to pass through. As a result, the submarine becomes slightly heavier and lowers. When the submarine needs to rise, the air is decompressed and the water is forced out, restoring the submarine's original buoyancy.

DIY Perks uses giant syringes to pull water into his submarine in order to achieve the same effect. However, he states that the problem is not only in operating them mechanically, but also in creating a framework to support them and the control circuitry. If you're curious to see how he managed to pull this project off, make sure you watch the video above, and as always, enjoy.

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