Editing SS Great Eastern (section)

===Concept===
[[File:Robert Howlett (Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern), The Metropolitan Museum of Art - restoration1.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern|The famous photograph]] by [[Robert Howlett]] of [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel|Brunel]] before the ship's launching chains]]

After his success in pioneering steam travel to North America with {{SS|Great Western||2}} and {{SS|Great Britain||2}}, Brunel turned his attention to a vessel capable of making longer voyages as far as Australia. With a planned capacity of 15,000 tons of coal, ''Great Eastern'' was envisioned as being able to sail halfway around the world without taking on coal, while also carrying so much cargo and passengers that papers described her as a "floating city" and "the [[The Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]] of the sea".<ref>{{harvnb|Rolt|1957|p=309}}</ref><ref name=":1">Dugan (1952) pp. 3, 4, 5, 6</ref> Brunel saw the ship as being able to effectively monopolize trade with Asia and Australia, making regular trips between Britain and either [[Trincomalee]] or Australia.<ref name=":1" />

On 25 March 1852, Brunel made a sketch of a steamship in his diary and wrote beneath it: "Say 600 ft x 65 ft x 30 ft" (180 m x 20 m x 9.1 m). These measurements were six times larger by volume than any ship afloat; such a large vessel would benefit from [[economies of scale]] and would be both fast and economical, requiring fewer crew than the equivalent tonnage made up of smaller ships. Brunel realised that the ship would need more than one propulsion system; since twin [[Propeller|screws]] were still very much experimental, he settled on a combination of a single screw and [[paddle wheels]], with auxiliary sail power. Although Brunel had pioneered the screw propeller on a large scale with ''Great Britain'', he did not believe that it was possible to build a single propeller and shaft (or, for that matter, a paddleshaft) that could transmit the required power to drive his giant ship at the required speed.<ref>{{harvnb|Rolt|1957|p=313}}</ref>

Brunel showed his idea to [[John Scott Russell]], an experienced naval architect and ship builder whom he had first met at [[the Great Exhibition]]. Scott Russell examined Brunel's plan and made his own calculations as to the ship's feasibility. He calculated that it would have a displacement of 20,000 tons and would require {{convert|8500|hp|lk=in}} to achieve {{convert|14|kn|lk=in}}, but believed it was possible. At Scott Russell's suggestion, they approached the directors of the [[Eastern Steam Navigation Company]] with the new design plan. The [[James Watt|James Watt Company]] would design the ship's screw, Professor [[Charles Piazzi Smyth|Piazzi Smyth]] would design its gyroscopic equipment, and Russell himself would build the hull and paddle wheel.<ref name=":1" />