How Sonar Works (Submarine Shadow Zone) - Smarter Every Day 249

This was an incredibly challenging video to make. The challenge came with getting the Navy to agree to the interview in the first place, then successfully navigating the interview without it being shut down. In the end, everyone was super professional and it was a really fun topic to learn about! I hope you enjoy, and thank you very much for considering becoming a Patron at (www.patreon.com/smartereveryday)!

"Hi! Welcome to Smarter Everyd..." "That's a no-go."

"Partially right, but mostly wrong" -perhaps the most honest response ever. Haha. Great video Destin!

Super interesting! I can't believe they actually [redacted]

destin in such an underrated interviewer. the amount of stress there is in such a interview in which a lot of the questions he’s asking can’t be answered without leaking classified information is amazing and the way he handles himself and asks all these great questions in such a situation is even more amazing. great job man.

"so what is a submarine?" "i'm afraid thats classified"

"No its not, I can show you the manual where its declassified." The sign of a professional that takes their job seriously. Good for him and the guy supervising him. If a supervisor is willing to be challenged without taking it personally everyone achieves more.

as a sonar op myself, you did an amazing job at explaining something very complicated in a simple way, wait until you learn about passive narrowband and doppler effect!

Garrett is one stone cold professional and I'm glad we have many like him in our forces

I love how he's like "no no, this is in this and so document, its declassified. I can get the manual if you want" You can tell how much he loves his job and loves to talk about it :)

Inside the submarine: "That's classified, I can't talk about it " Outside the submarine: THERE IS A SHADOW ZONE!!!

That dude reaaaally loves his job, Exhibit #1: Glimpses of nerdy enthusiasm being shut down by his professionalism and responsibility. Exhibit #2: Exact de-classified manual to continue the conversation - "I can go get it right now!" LMAO, this also shows he's under good leadership, in the sense that he was willing to challenge his supervisor. The constant tension in the room shows this was the real deal, good content, earned a sub.

"In terms of understanding, how am I doing though?" "you're pretty good" "I'm like at kindergarten though?" "That's all we want you to know." that smirk at the end, I lol'd

Jalapeno Popper guy is officially the best guy on board.

I’m an electrical engineer and I used to work on the Virginia & Los Angeles class submarines to test for electromagnetic interference. I worked in the radio room, the electronic surveillance room, and the control room testing EMI levels on all types of systems on the subs. I got to see how the sonar worked, while sitting alongside the ship’s crew. Being in the control room was INSANE! I even went on sea trials with these guys, ate & slept with them for a whole week. It is definitely an experience that I’ll remember forever. Talking with the crew members about their lives and getting to know them like everyday people was an even better experience. Thanks for sharing this Destin.

I am a former sonarman on an Arleigh Burke class destroyer, and I must say that this is a very good video when it comes to explaining what I used to do in the Navy as an STG 2 Sonar Supervisor. Yes, lots of math and knowing the "signature" of every single ship and sub that exists (or at least those that we know of), plus all of the biologics and underwater topography (and oceanography). It does take a lot of mental aptitude to first identify the contact that you're hearing (you need to know the specific frequencies that every vessel emits into the water), and then you need to do the trig to actually figure out where it is in the water (i.e. time and space), and what direction it is moving (and at what relative velocity). And you must do this using only heard frequencies in the water, while also allowing for real-time changes on our part or theirs. We generally had 3-5 minutes to first identify the contact, and then another 5 minutes to determine where it is (and what speed/heading it was on). By the time that I left the Navy, the buttons on my calculator were worn entirely unreadable (and I bought it brand new when I checked aboard my ship). I did two deployments to the Gulf, plus an INSURV. My ship came in second for the Bloodhound Award after INSURV.

I like chief's deadpan response to XO where he's like " I can go get it if you want..." haha. The content you are able to deliver on this channel is really amazing.

Chief said - "I can go get the manual if you want" Subtle but savage. Everyone who's been on a boat has lived that exact moment.

“Are you buffering right now?” Yup...

This was so much fun to watch as a former Submarine Sonar Tech STS2/SS on the same class of boat I was twisting with the Chief as to how I would answer without tipping my hand. Knowing the answers gave it twice the entertainment value. Thanks for the video, I now have another great place to point friends that want to know what I did on the boat.