2006-10-03 19:55:44 · 7 answers · asked by karl k 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
can something be neutrualy bouyant only at aspecific depth due to pressure or something?
2006-10-03 20:04:03 · update #1
In theory, yes. In practice, probably not.
Water is essentially noncompressible. Therefore its density is essentially constant. Which means if an object sinks near the surface, it will continue to sink. BUT, water is not exactly compressible, therefore it does get slightly denser as depth increases. The problem is that this amount is so small other factors could become more dominant such as water currents with updrafting warm water.
2006-10-03 20:26:14 · answer #1 · answered by Kevin R 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Now for the fun part. The reference term you are looking for is Specific Gravity. I could go into a long complex explanation and maybe get an item or two wrong. Given that, I suggest doing a search on Yahoo using SPECIFIC GRAVITY. Wikipedia should come up in the results and it's a good one to look at even if you have to work your way around some of the math. The other sites will provide both general and specific information and show that the second answer is basically correct and it would be interesting to see how the first answer explains how submarines work..
2006-10-04 03:13:12 · answer #2 · answered by Draken 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, you just have to get the density right. Water becomes more dense with depth so if you have an object which is slightly denser than surface water, it will sink until it reaches a depth equivalent to its own density. To get it to sit a three feet would be very difficult because the density difference over that small depth would be only slight.
2006-10-04 02:59:42 · answer #3 · answered by uselessadvice 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. Any change in the state of the water will affect its density and the object will float or sink again. Do a web search for a Galileo thermometer. It operates on this very principle. As the temperature of the fluid changes, the weights float or sink.
2006-10-04 06:08:07 · answer #4 · answered by Warren914 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not in general. If you add something to the water on the botton (salt for example) & carefully pour pure water on top, an object who's density is greater than pure water but less than salt water wil stay suspended as long as the to waters don't mix too much.
2006-10-04 03:24:11 · answer #5 · answered by yupchagee 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say that yes you probably can . You would need to experiment; I would say you get a small weight and around it you wrap the weight around using foam then you could use like a frisbee 2 you would need to cober the weight and foam. It wouldn't sink that far.
2006-10-04 03:13:24 · answer #6 · answered by mom_in_love 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. things either sink or float.
2006-10-04 02:57:22 · answer #7 · answered by Eugene 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋