The first complete views of the legendary wreck: As the starboard profile shows, the Titanic buckled as it plowed nose-first into the seabed, leaving the forward hull buried deep in mud—obscuring, possibly forever, the mortal wounds inflicted by the iceberg. (Copyright 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
The first complete views of the legendary wreck: Ethereal views of Titanic's bow offer a comprehensiveness of detail never seen before. The optical mosaics each consist of 1,500 high-resolution images rectified using sonar data. (Copyright 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
The first complete views of the legendary wreck: Titanic's battered stern is captured overhead here. Making sense of this tangle of metal presents endless challenges to experts. Says one,
National Geographic
The Titanic anniversary is featured in April's issue of National Geographic.
The detailed, sweeping images of the sunken ship were made by stitching together hundreds of optical and sonar images collected by three deep-diving robots during a 2010 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution expedition.
One remotely operated vehicle and two autonomous swimming robots were equipped with sonar, used to make wide-area maps; and advanced 3D camera systems, used to conduct detailed investigations of the shipwreck.
The resulting images are the most comprehensive ever made of the ghostly site.
Aft grand staircase dome: Decorated like the forward grand staircase dome featured in the movie Titanic, the aft grand staircase led down to the deluxe a la carte restaurant, allowing patrons to arrive in style. (Copyright 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Davit pile: Titanic's lifeboats were hoisted overboard by davits, or small cranes. Most were ranked off the deck by flailing funnel cables. These two were entangled by ropes left dangling after a boat was launched. shanghai apartment (Copyright 2012 RMS TITANIC, INC; Produced by AIVL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
The Titanic Belfast Experience is a new visitor attraction location in Belfast's Titanic Quarter, on the original site of the Harland and Wolff shipyard - birthplace of RMS Titanic.
All swords are not created equal, particularly when it comes to "Game of Thrones," the HBO series based on George R.R. Martin's character-rich sword-and-sorcery saga. When the series opens its second series on Sunday, some of the swords you'll see are made of cheap resin, others are metal blades just meant to look good — and a few of them have been custom-crafted using a technique reminiscent of the story's fictional, magic-laden Valyrian steel.
For Martin, swords are serious business.
"The one thing I can say is that he is very, very knowledgeable about history, including weaponry," said Chris Beasley, the proprietor of Valyrian Steel, the Michigan-based company that produces licensed replicas of "Game of Thrones" swords. "When designing the swords, and he is highly involved in the design process of our book replicas, he doesn't want something to look cool. He is more concerned with realism — who made it, why, and how?"
For example, let's talk about Valyrian steel. In the "Game of Thrones" TV series and Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" book series, the Valyrian blades were created ages earlier by a vanished civilization, using a blend of alloys forged with magic spells. There's actually a real-life analog, minus the magic, known as Damascus steel. Damascus swords are famous for their resilience and the intricate, flowing patterns that are imprinted on the blades, but the secret of their forging has been lost for centuries.
A few years ago, researchers found that at the microscopic level, Damascus steel contains carbon nanotubes — structures that seem like 21st-century technological magic dropped into the 17th century. The super-strong nanostructures are mixed in with softer metal in the sword. That solves the classic dilemma of sword-making: how to make a blade that is hard enough to do damage, yet supple enough not to break.
HBO
Young King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) sits on an Iron Throne made from the swords of enemies.
Modern-day Valyrian steel
Today, swordsmiths use a process known as "pattern welding" that produces results similar to the lost art of Damascus steel. Multiple layers of steel, with different amounts of carbon and other elements, are forge-welded together to create a blade that combines strength and suppleness. When all the layers of metal are flattened and folded together, over and over, it's like having two blades — or, more accurately, 200 blades — in one.
Some of the best-known Valyrian blades seen in the "Game of Thrones" TV series, such as the swords nicknamed Ice and Longclaw, were made using the pattern-welding technique.
"Ice was the main weapon to get right," Tommy Dunne, the weaponmaster for the series, said in a Westeros.org interview. "From the concept to the construction, it was about three weeks to make, as the blade was hand-forged by pattern welding, and the blade was drawn using machine hammers. But as with any good weapons, there's some other secrets that will remain secret! shanghai apartment "
Beasley's business also sells some swords made with pattern-welded steel. "Those could technically be used, but we never recommend it," he told me. "Our swords are limited-edition collectibles, and no sword is impervious to damage. If used, they will get nicks, and chips, and scratches."
Beasley recalls that Valyrian Steel's Longclaw replica originally sold for $600, but after the swords were sold out, one customer reported receiving an offer of $3,000 to $4,000 for his sword. "I wouldn't recommend that anyone risk damage to something so valuable," Beasley told me.
Needle at work
If real fake Valyrian steel is too expensive for your taste, you can shell out $170 for Needle, the kid-sized sword that 9-year-old Arya Stark learns to uses with deadly effect in "Game of Thrones." Beasley said Martin had a hand in designing the replica.
"Reading the books, I and many others thought, 'OK, this is a small rapier,'" Beasley recalled. "George very quickly put that notion to rest. He said that Mikken, the Winterfell smith who made it, would never have seen a rapier in his life, so how could he make one? That is why the book version of needle is more or less a small, slim longsword, and not a rapier."
"One customer did tell us that they use Needle in their offhand to increase strength and coordination," Beasley told me. "They keep it in their office, and when on the phone or otherwise occupied they just jab and thrust with their left hand." (Remind me not to burst into that office unexpectedly.)
New twists in an old trade
Some of the secrets from the golden age of swordsmithing may have been lost over the past few centuries, but technology is adding new twists to the trade. There's been a lot of research into the use of alloying elements such as carbon, manganese, chromium, nickel, titanium and molybdenum. Materials scientists also are developing metallic materials infused with carbon nanotubes, just like in the good old days of Damascus steel.
"In more modern times, steel can be precisely made, and the overall material creation process can be more scientific so that you can get precisely the steel with the hardness and flexibility you desire," Beasley said. "So materials science has probably made modern swords stronger than older ones, but construction methods have not changed — though, obviously, power tools and other equipment have replaced arm power."
Ah, power tools — I'll bet the swordsmiths of King's Landing would have shelled out hundreds of silver stags for a good belt grinder. Are you in a mood to geek out over the science and technology of "Game of Thrones"? Feel free to indulge yourself in the comment section.
