The upward force of buoyancy keeps objects afloat even in unusual conditions
That physical law, discovered by the ancient Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes, is why dense objects sink and less dense ones float. Diving rings sit at the bottom of a pool because they have a lot of mass but don’t take up much space, so the force of gravity beats buoyancy. A beach ball, on the other hand, has very little mass but takes up a lot of space, so if it were placed at the bottom of a pool, it would bob to the surface.
A partially submerged, upside-down boat experiences the same upward pull. As a result, if the right amount of the boat is submerged, the force of buoyancy is strong enough to counteract gravity pulling the boat down, and the boat floats. Bet Archimedes didn’t see that coming.
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That physical law, discovered by the ancient Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes, is why dense objects sink and less dense ones float. Diving rings sit at the bottom of a pool because they have a lot of mass but don’t take up much space, so the force of gravity beats buoyancy. A beach ball, on the other hand, has very little mass but takes up a lot of space, so if it were placed at the bottom of a pool, it would bob to the surface.
A partially submerged, upside-down boat experiences the same upward pull. As a result, if the right amount of the boat is submerged, the force of buoyancy is strong enough to counteract gravity pulling the boat down, and the boat floats. Bet Archimedes didn’t see that coming.
Toy boats float upside down underneath a layer of levitated liquid
The upward force of buoyancy keeps objects afloat even in unusual conditions.
www.sciencenews.org