If you just want to know the answer, it is 430 meters, or 1410.5 feet.
Alright, so I haven't really found a consistent answer on how far away the iceberg was once it was spotted, and I get it, we can't go back to that night and see it with our own eyes, but I would of expected more consistent answers. Quick calculations aren't too hard. For this, we just need two things: Speed, and time.
Time is easy: Around 37 seconds. Speed is slightly harder as not a lot of people know how fast a knot is in meters per second. For your info, a knot is about .51 meters a second. Titanic was sailing at almost full speed when she hit the iceberg, so I'll give a generous range of 22.45 to 22.75 knots. This translates to 11.54 to 11.70 meters per second. So, I'll take the average of 22.60 knots, or 11.62 meters a second. So, we just multiply the two factors, and get a distance of: 430 meters (I rounded it up).
That's actually not as long as you think. For those of you in the U.S, that is 1,410.56 feet. I've seen estimates for the distance range from around 625 meters, all the way down to around 274 meters in some cases. Yes, the distance may vary a bit when you calculate other factors, but this is a rough estimate.
On to 2 questions.
1. How well would the lookouts be able to keep their eyes open? The fact that the ships moving in relation to the air around it, means you experience wind. Normally this is fine, but the conditions that night were unusual; it was cold. Very cold. How well would you be able to keep your eyes open without something to cover them while icy wind is blasting your face?
2. This has probably been asked before, but how well would glasses actually work? Fleet testified that he might of been able to see the iceberg sooner if he had glasses. I'm pretty sure glasses are tools to help correct eye sight. So, the question stands: how well would glasses actually work for Fleet and Lee?
Alright, so I haven't really found a consistent answer on how far away the iceberg was once it was spotted, and I get it, we can't go back to that night and see it with our own eyes, but I would of expected more consistent answers. Quick calculations aren't too hard. For this, we just need two things: Speed, and time.
Time is easy: Around 37 seconds. Speed is slightly harder as not a lot of people know how fast a knot is in meters per second. For your info, a knot is about .51 meters a second. Titanic was sailing at almost full speed when she hit the iceberg, so I'll give a generous range of 22.45 to 22.75 knots. This translates to 11.54 to 11.70 meters per second. So, I'll take the average of 22.60 knots, or 11.62 meters a second. So, we just multiply the two factors, and get a distance of: 430 meters (I rounded it up).
That's actually not as long as you think. For those of you in the U.S, that is 1,410.56 feet. I've seen estimates for the distance range from around 625 meters, all the way down to around 274 meters in some cases. Yes, the distance may vary a bit when you calculate other factors, but this is a rough estimate.
On to 2 questions.
1. How well would the lookouts be able to keep their eyes open? The fact that the ships moving in relation to the air around it, means you experience wind. Normally this is fine, but the conditions that night were unusual; it was cold. Very cold. How well would you be able to keep your eyes open without something to cover them while icy wind is blasting your face?
2. This has probably been asked before, but how well would glasses actually work? Fleet testified that he might of been able to see the iceberg sooner if he had glasses. I'm pretty sure glasses are tools to help correct eye sight. So, the question stands: how well would glasses actually work for Fleet and Lee?