How things work: Submarines 🌊⚓🫧

Sleep Tight Science - A Bedtime Science Show For Kids

Sleep Tight Media

Kids & Family, Education For Kids

4.4 • 738 Ratings

🗓️ 5 November 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode we explore how submarines dive, hover, and rise through the ocean. We'll discover the special ballast tanks that can fill with water or air to make the submarine heavier or lighter, learn about Archimedes' principle—the rule that explains why things float or sink—and find out how dive planes steer the boat up and down while the pressure hull keeps everyone safe from crushing water pressure.Grown-ups: we value your feedback. Our email and message link are in the episode notes—please send us your child’s questions and thoughts. Sleep Tight!, Sheryl & Clark ❤️👂📖 --- ✨ Want more stories and fewer interruptions? Join Sleep Tight Premium for ad-free listening, bonus bedtime stories every week, and personalized shout-outs for your little ones! Start your free trial now on Apple Podcasts or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sleeptightpremium.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. --- Support Us 👉 Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Premium⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for AD FREE listening and extra bedtime stories! 👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sleep Tight Premium⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is now available in Apple Podcasts! 🎉 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts, or share our podcast with your friends. 📢 Have an interesting science topic you would like to investigate? Send us an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@sleeptightscience.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , and we may feature it in an upcoming show. --- About Sleep Tight Science We’ve got bedtime down to a (Sleep Tight) Science! Sleep Tight Science is an award winning bedtime podcast that makes science accessible and enjoyable for the whole family. Snuggle in and drift off to sleep while learning about science topics submitted by listeners! Designed for curious young minds (but simple enough for grown-ups to understand), Sleep Tight Science uses big words to answer big questions that kids wonder about, like why do we feel icky sometimes and how do our legs help us move? Learn something new about the natural world while drifting off to dreamland. Have an interesting science question or a topic you’re curious about? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@sleeptightscience.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and it might just be the focus of an upcoming episode! Dedicated to enhancing the health and happiness of children, Sleep Tight Media helps families replace bedtime struggles with bedtime snuggles. -- Advertising provided by Starglow Media. Learn more about Starglow Media ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Sleep Type Science. My name is Daxton. I live in Abbotsford, BC, Canada.
0:20.2	Did you know some submarines are so big, they're longer than a football field,
0:27.7	and can carry over 100 people underwater for months at a time?
0:34.1	What?
0:35.0	Like an entire neighborhood, living beneath the waves?
0:43.3	Hello friends and welcome back to Sleep Tite Science, a bedtime show that answers your questions
0:51.8	about science. In this episode, we're learning about submarines, those remarkable boats that can travel deep beneath
1:02.6	the ocean's surface. We'll discover how they control whether they sink or float, how they steer through the underwater darkness,
1:13.5	and how people live and breathe inside a sealed metal tube surrounded by crushing water pressure.
1:23.7	Our questions are, how does a submarine dive, cruise at the depth it wants, and rise again,
1:33.3	and what keeps everyone safe inside?
1:37.3	To answer these, we'll explore the float or sink rule that governs everything in water, the special tanks that change a
1:47.0	sub's weight, the small wings that aim it up or down, and the strong shell that keeps the ocean
1:54.0	out while holding air in. A quiet thank you to Daxton Willems in Abertsford, British Columbia, for introducing our show.
2:06.5	And to all our curious friends who send in questions.
2:10.7	You help us learn together.
2:14.0	Let's find a comfy spot and take one easy breath in and out.
2:26.3	Picture a smooth metal vessel gliding beneath the waves.
2:31.3	When special tanks fill with water, it grows heavier and glides down into the blue
2:37.4	darkness. When those tanks fill with air instead, it becomes lighter and rises toward the sunlight.
2:47.5	Tiny fins tilt like airplane wings, pointing it gently higher or lower as it moves through the silent ocean.
2:58.9	Just before we start, let's make sure we understand some important words we'll be using.
	...

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