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Archimedes' Principle


lukecandy

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The most practical application of Archimedes' principle is buoyancy. If you submerge an object in a fluid, there is a buoyancy force which acts on the object, equal in magnitude to the weight of the liquid displaced, and opposite in direction to gravity. For example, if you submerge a balloon in water, the force will act to send the balloon upwards, while gravity seeks to bring the balloon down. The amount of this force will be the weight of the displaced fluid, in this case water. If the balloon has volume V (units of m^3), and the fluid water has density 1000kg/m^3, then the mass displaced would be 1000*V. The weight displaced would be 1000*V*g, where g is the acceleration due to gravity. A further application is finding the apparent weight while immersed in the fluid, which would be to subtract the force of gravity from the buoyancy force. It is by this reason that dense objects sink in water, while light objects float.

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The most practical application of Archimedes' principle is buoyancy. If you submerge an object in a fluid, there is a buoyancy force which acts on the object, equal in magnitude to the weight of the liquid displaced, and opposite in direction to gravity. For example, if you submerge a balloon in water, the force will act to send the balloon upwards, while gravity seeks to bring the balloon down. The amount of this force will be the weight of the displaced fluid, in this case water. If the balloon has volume V (units of m^3), and the fluid water has density 1000kg/m^3, then the mass displaced would be 1000*V. The weight displaced would be 1000*V*g, where g is the acceleration due to gravity. A further application is finding the apparent weight while immersed in the fluid, which would be to subtract the force of gravity from the buoyancy force. It is by this reason that dense objects sink in water, while light objects float.

If an object is floating but partly submerged, the water displaced has an equal mass to the submerged part of the floating object.

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