2006-12-02 15:25:03 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
An object will sink into the fluid into which you are trying to float it until it has displaced its mass in the fluid.
Take an inflated ball weighing 10.0 pounds, and you are putting into a tank that is 100% full to the brim with water. As you lower the ball into the tank, water will spill out. Once 10lbs of water have spilled out, the ball begins to float.
If this ball is made of solid steel (small ball), it will be completely submerged before 10 lbs of water spill from the tank, thus it will not float.
The volume of the ball is therefore important. If you take the inflated ball, deflate it, crumple it into a small package and now try to submerge it, you may again find that it will not displace the 10 lbs of water, and will no longer float.
Now, if you have a more dense liquid than water, you will not have to lower the ball as low before 10 lbs of fluid spill from the tank. Your ball is more buoyant.
Relative density is the key. Air is not dense, which is why you don't float in it. You don't displace 150lbs of air with your volume. Water is dense, and you can float in it. For an object with constant volume, the more dense the fluid, the better. You will displace more mass with your volume, and therefore be more buoyant.
Long winded response, I know...
*Sigh*
m
2006-12-02 15:55:38 · answer #1 · answered by Mukluk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When an object floats in a liquid, the liquid is providing an upthrust equal to the downward force due to the weight of the object. The upthrust is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced by the object.
If M is the mass of the object, and V is the volume of the object submerged in the liquid, and P is the density of the liquid,
M=VP
You can see that when M is a constant (same object, same mass), the higher the density of the liquid, the lesser the volume of the object submerged under the liquid, since V and P are inversely proportional to each other.
Hope this is clear.
2006-12-02 16:34:16 · answer #2 · answered by t y 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
in a liquid with high density an object is less likly to sink unless its denser than the liquid
2006-12-02 15:35:24 · answer #3 · answered by zep 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look it up, buoyancy force:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buoyancy
2006-12-02 15:28:19 · answer #4 · answered by arbiter007 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋