A COFFEE CUP REDUCED TO SIZE OF A THIMBLE

WHAT happens to these coffee cups when they travel seven miles to the bottom of the world is a dramatic visual demonstration of the effects of colossal pressure at depth.

An eight-ounce cup is reduced to the size of a thimble because the pressure of 16,000lb per square inch crushes the air out from between the polystyrene beads. Expedition leader Rob McCallum, above, explains: ‘This is graphic proof of the effects of the immense pressures found at full ocean depth. It provides a challenge for our technology, which needs to function perfectly because this is one of the most hostile environments on Earth.’