i know this is a stupid question but i was just wondering, if a large vessel sinks and you are to close to it.

Question

will the ship produce suction and suck people under water if they are to close or is this just something they show on the movies to make the movie more exciting? thanks for all your answers

Answer 1

In the navy we are taught how to deal with this problem. So it definitely exist. As to whether it's as bad as shown in the movies depends entirely on the size and design of the ship sinking. A ship like a liner with all those windows would produce those movie style effects a tanker on the other hand would not it would still have that suction effect but only in a small localized way say in the superstructure area.

Answer 2

This actually depends on the type of vessel and way the vessel founders. For instance, everbody has always thought that when the Titanic sank, it produced massive suction as she sunk. This is not true. The only thing that did occur, was that she produced implosions of water being forced in and then abruptly out again, sending people through the water like bullets. Vessels that act as cargo carriers, like container ships and oil tankers when they sink, usually have great pressure forced outwards. This is due to the cargo being displaced by water, which in essence, forces the water out and not in.

Answer 3

Yes it is true. In fact it is true for all abjects, not just a large ship. But for there to be a danger to a swimmer, there must be currents stronger than your swimming ability, so it would vary from swimmer to swimmer.

What happens with any sinking object is that the object must move the water out of the way as it sinks. The water has to move in behind the object as it goes down. On the surface, this water must come from the top layer of water. The water will flow toward the center of the object's sinking location in direct proportion to the size and sinking rate of the object. If it sinks fast, the water will flow fast. If it sinks slowly, the water will flow slowly. The size of the object determines the amount of water flowing.

This phenomena is seen in any movie of a submarine submerging. The water flows over the deck from all sides.

This is easy to test using a bathtub, a little powdered food coloring, and several objects of different size, buoyancy, and weight. Sprinkle the powder on the surface and gently place an object in the water and let it sink. Observe the vortexes created as they sink.

;-D Science in the bathroom!

Answer 4

When the boat sinks it sinks slowly, because it still has some buoyancy. If it has compartments they would fill with water, being that the water would displace the air. This would cause the air to become a huge bubble, which in turn cause an uplifting of water and the reverse pressure would push the nearby objects away.

Answer 5

Its not a myth. Its true. They did a piece on mythbusters on the discovery channel on this.

Essentially what happens in the water that poors in over the sinking ship forces everything down very fast.

Answer 6

Yes - when a ship does sink it can suck you under. This is caused by compartments in the ship that flood - the water rushes in- this water comes from the surrounding area- if you happen to be in that area you could get caught in the suction.

Answer 7

That is one possibility. But it would take a huge ship to do this, and you would likely only go under a few feet before the pull would lessen enough to allow you to surface.

Answer 8

They tried it on mythbusters last season and couldn't find it to work with smaller boats, but said it was probable with a really large vessel.

Answer 9

No it,s true. If a large object sinks it is going to create a vortex. As mentioned here 'Mythbusters' did a segment on that.

Answer 10

Yes, it happened in Titanic. That was a true story.