bathysphere

American  

[bath-uh-sfeer] / ˈbæθ əˌsfɪər /

noun

Oceanography.

1. a spherical diving apparatus from which to study deep-sea life, lowered into the ocean depths by a cable.

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bathysphere British  

/ ˈbæθɪˌsfɪə /

noun

1. a strong steel deep-sea diving sphere, lowered by cable

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bathysphere Scientific  

/ băth′ĭ-sfîr′ /

1. A hollow, spherical steel diving chamber in which people are lowered by cable from a surface vessel to explore the ocean depths. In 1934 a bathysphere carrying William Beebe and an associate reached a record depth of over 923 m (3,028 ft). Because space in the bathysphere is cramped, dives longer than three-and-a-half hours are intolerable, and it was eventually supplanted by the bathyscaphe.

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Etymology

Origin of bathysphere

First recorded in 1925–30; bathy- + -sphere

Example Sentences

The first bathysphere made its initial descent off an island in Bermuda on June 6, 1930, lowered into the Atlantic Ocean by a shipboard winch.

From Scientific American • Jun. 20, 2023

A broken cable would send the bathysphere plummeting into oblivion.

From Scientific American • Jun. 20, 2023

Hollister became invaluable as an experienced ichthyologist, and she made research descents in the bathysphere.

From Nature • Dec. 18, 2018

A bathysphere is a capsule; a sarcophagus is a capsule.

From Time • Feb. 20, 2012

For a considerable length of time since his descent to the ocean floor, young Abbot had clung to one of the thick windows of his bathysphere, absorbed by the marine life outside.

From Astounding Stories, August, 1931 by Various