The Bermuda Triangle (also known as Devil's Triangle) is a nearly half-million square-mile (1.2 million km2) area of ocean roughly defined by Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Bermuda Triangle has become popular through representation by the mass media, in which it is a paranormal site in which the known laws of physics are either violated, altered, or both.
While there is a common belief that a number of ships and airplanes have disappeared under highly unusual circumstances in this region, the United States Coast Guard and others disagree with that assessment, citing statistics demonstrating that the number of incidents involving lost ships and aircraft is no larger than that of any other heavily traveled region of the world [1]. Many of the alleged mysteries have proven not so mysterious or unusual upon close examination, with inaccuracies and misinformation about the cases often circulating and recirculating over the decades.
The triangle is an arbitrary shape, crudely marking out a corridor of the Atlantic Ocean, stretching northward from the West Indies, along the North American seaboard, as far as the Carolinas. In the Age of Sail, ships returning to Europe from parts south would sail north to the Carolinas, then turn east for Europe, taking advantage of the prevailing wind direction across the North Atlantic. Even with the development of steam and internal-combustion engines, a great deal more shipping traffic was (and still is) found nearer the US coastline than towards the empty centre of the Atlantic. The Triangle also loosely conforms with the course of the Gulf Stream as it leaves the West Indies, and has always been an area of volatile weather. The combination of distinctly heavy maritime traffic and tempestuous weather meant that a certain, also distinctly large, number of vessels would founder in storms. Given the historical limitations of communications technology, most of those ships that sank without survivors would disappear without a trace. The advent of wireless communications, radar, and satellite navigation meant that the unexplained disappearances largely ceased at some point in the 20th Century. The occasional vessel still sinks, but rarely without a trace. It should be noted that both the concept and the name of the Bermuda Triangle date only to the 1960s, and were the products of an American journalist.
Other areas often purported to possess unusual characteristics are the Devil's Sea, located near Japan, and the Marysburgh Vortex or the Great Lakes Triangle, located in eastern Lake Ontario.
2006-06-12 00:39:11
·
answer #1
·
answered by Anonymous
·
7⤊
2⤋
The Bermuda Triangle (also known as Devil's Triangle) is a nearly half-million square-mile (1.2 million km^2) area of ocean roughly defined by Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Bermuda Triangle has become popular through representation by the mass media, in which it is a paranormal site in which the known laws of physics are either violated, altered, or both.
While there is a common belief that a number of ships and airplanes have disappeared under highly unusual circumstances in this region, the United States Coast Guard and others disagree with that assessment, citing statistics demonstrating that the number of incidents involving lost ships and aircraft is no larger than that of any other heavily traveled region of the world [1]. Many of the alleged mysteries have proven not so mysterious or unusual upon close examination, with inaccuracies and misinformation about the cases often circulating and recirculating over the decades.
2006-06-11 14:14:08
·
answer #2
·
answered by organicchem 5
·
0⤊
0⤋
The Bermuda Triangle has a reputation for being an area where ships and airplanes disappear, often under mysterious circumstances. This reputation came to public awareness in the 1950s and became a household name in the 1970s, mostly due to "The Bermuda Triangle", a bestselling book written by Charles Berlitz.
Various explanations for the apparent high number of disappearances have been put forward, ranging from the mundane to the hyper-fantastic.
Skeptics contend that this region has a comparable rate of maritime and aerial incidents as any other similar sized region of the ocean. They point out that Lloyd's of London, a world-renowned insurer of maritime vessels, does not charge a higher insurance premium for ships that regularly traverse the triangle.
Scientific considerations for an increased disappearance rate take into account that this region experiences severe tropical storms and is the source of many hurricanes. These storms create an increased danger to both ship and air traffic.
Rogue waves have also been put forward as a possible cause. These rare waves can reach heights of as much as 100 feet (30 meters), easily swamping most ships. Rouge waves, however, would have no effect on air travel.
A third scientific explanation is methane hydrates. Methane deposits on the ocean floor may release bursts of methane gas that reduces the density of the water it permeates. Since ships rely on displacement to stay afloat, a reduction of density in the water would cause a ship to immediately sink. As the methane leaves the water and rises into the air, it would reduce the density of the air as well, thus reducing lift on aircraft, causing them to descend rapidly. In addition, the methane would change the air mixture taken into the engines of the aircraft, causing the engine to stall. While these events have not been witnessed in nature, they have been proved in lab experiments.
More exotic explanations for the Bermuda Triangle include it being an area of magnetic disturbance, temporal (or time) holes, the location of the lost city of Atlantis, or extra-terrestrial abduction.
2006-06-13 14:09:20
·
answer #3
·
answered by California Bear 6
·
0⤊
0⤋
Smart people make a lot of money telling gullible people that there's a Bermuda Triangle. Gullible people repeating nonsense are the "secret".
2006-06-11 20:40:38
·
answer #4
·
answered by What to do? 5
·
0⤊
0⤋
Maybe there are whirlpools which are capable of sucking air as well as water. I'm turning 14 on the 25th June. Pl wish me on that day.....
2006-06-11 14:13:46
·
answer #5
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
It's hidden in Fort Knox
2006-06-11 15:49:14
·
answer #6
·
answered by Judas Rabbi 7
·
0⤊
0⤋
It is a secret
2006-06-11 15:38:21
·
answer #7
·
answered by peppermint_paddy 7
·
0⤊
0⤋
It is not a secret It is a mistery . secret is something that you know and nobody alse know
2006-06-11 14:42:57
·
answer #8
·
answered by ferchopaisa 1
·
0⤊
0⤋
If we knew, it wouldn't be secret!!
2006-06-11 14:13:02
·
answer #9
·
answered by mrkymrk64 3
·
0⤊
0⤋
Believe it or not, no one knows yet!
2006-06-11 14:44:11
·
answer #10
·
answered by Science_Guy 4
·
0⤊
0⤋