I have a teammate whose father was in the Navy and she started telling me about what he used to do when he was still active. On one occasion, he was working on a project where he submerged a remote control underwater search vehicle 17,600ft underwater. He was attached two large "styrofoam" cups and when they reached the desired depth, the cups shrunk. This is due to the composition of polystyrene (commonly referred to as styrofoam). Polystyrene is a petroleum based plastic made from the styrene monomer. It is very light, a great insulator, and 95% of it is air. When under pressure, this air is released, causing it to shrink like it did.
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