Hundreds of meters underground.
Large enough to house tens
to hundreds of thousands of people.
And walls strong enough to withstand
the force of a nuclear blast.
These are some of the world's deepest,
and largest bunkers.
But even in an apocalypse,
you wouldn't be completely safe
in one of these.
Earth-penetrating weapons,
like the 1.2 megaton B83 warhead,
can demolish bunkers 300 m (1,000 ft) deep.
The deepest hole in the world,
the Kola Superdeep Borehole,
penetrates about
In comparison,
underground bunkers are usually built
at much shallower depths.
One of the deepest bunkers in the world,
the Cheyenne Mountain Complex,
is only about 610 m (2,000 ft) deep.
So what's the problem?
If we can dig thousands of meters
into the Earth,
what's stopping us from
making a bunker just as deep?
The truth is,
we do have the tools and technology
to build the world's deepest bunker.
The only other things we'd need
are lots of time
and money.
Lot's and lots of money.
As we dig deeper and deeper,
the soil pressure will continue to increase.
It'll become expensive and difficult
to keep the hole from collapsing in on itself.
We could use sheet pile walls
to support the soil pressure.
They're commonly used in
construction and excavation.
But the deeper we dig,
the harder it is to construct the walls.
Another way we could work around this
is to dig narrower and narrower
as we reach the bottom of the hole.
It would look similar to an open-pit mine.
The soil would be stable
without the need of any support.
Then, all that's left is to build the bunker
right in the middle of the hole,
and fill it back up afterwards.
Sure, it'll be safer,
but ridiculously pricey and time consuming.
Some of the most expensive bunkers
cost millions of dollars to build,
so it's safe to say that
building the deepest bunker
could easily cost a fortune.
But what if we had the money and resources
to build the bunker?
What would life be like
if we had to stay down here?
Now, don't be expecting
a five-star bed and breakfast.
You'll be surrounded by thick,
tightly sealed concrete walls
so no gas, water, or radiation can get through.
And before you get settled in,
you'll need to make sure that the bunker has
a reliable power source underground,
a good filtration system,
and an ample supply of food and water.
The food down below in the bunker
wouldn't be much different than what
astronauts eat up above.
Your diet would consist of
dehydrated or freeze-dried foods
to prevent spoilage and to save space.
That is, until hydroponic farms can be built.
This is what farming could look like
in an underground bunker.
Instead of soil and sunlight,
some hydroponic farms use nutrient-rich water,
and artificial light to grow plants.
Not only that, but by using aquaponics,
fish and plants can be farmed together,
even indoors.
Eating fish can help provide us with
an essential nutrient that we'll
definitely be lacking underground,
vitamin D.
Sadly, if you're living underground,
you won't be able to get under the Sun
and work on your tan.
But there are much bigger problems
you're going to have to worry about.
Most of the vitamin D we get
is from the Sun.
We need this vitamin to keep our bones
strong and healthy.
UVA and UVB rays from the Sun
are also essential
so that we can make vitamin B in our bodies.
It helps boost our immune system
and it keep us happy and energized.
Woohoo.
A lack of sunlight can cause
other health problems too.
It can cause seasonal affective disorder,
a type of depression
that occurs in fall and winter,
when there's less light.
The Sun also helps to keep our
circadian rhythm in check.
It's the body's internal clock
and helps to regulate our sleep patterns.
Without the Sun,
people in isolation have slept
as much as 48 hours at a time.
Maybe we could use LED lamps
to provide artificial sunlight,
and a diet with a lot of vitamin D rich foods.
Okay, now that everyone has
enough food and light,
there's one more important thing
that we'll need to take care of,
the community.
With everyone's lives confined to the bunker,
staying connected will be ever so important.
You'll need to rely on other people
as you adapt to this new lifestyle.
Creating a normal life in the bunker
where kids go to school,
adults go to work,
and each person has their own room
can help everyone adjust.
Building the world's deepest bunker
might keep you safe
from what's happening on the surface,
but making sure everyone
is healthy underground is just as important.
Alright, now that you know
what it would be like
in the world's deepest bunker,
what if we built the world's tallest tower?
One that reached outer space?
Well, that's a story for another WHAT IF.