my daughter asked a good question the other day, how do metal ships float??

Answer 1

The same way any other ship floats. Because of the displacement of the water against the boat.

Answer 2

In fluid mechanics, displacement occurs when an object is immersed in a fluid, pushing it out of the way and taking its place, so that it can be weighed.

An object that sinks also displaces an amount of fluid equal to the object's volume. Thus buoyancy is expressed by Archimedes' Principle which states that when this happens, the weight of the object is reduced by its volume times the density of the fluid. If the weight of the object is less than this quantity, it will float, if more it will sink. The amount of fluid displaced is directly related (via Archimedes' Principle) to its weight.

Displacement is used as a measure of the weight of ships (see: Hull (watercraft), load line and Stability conditions (watercraft). The displacement of a vessel is equal to the weight of water it displaces when afloat.

Vessels such as naval ships and icebreakers are often measured by their displacements. The unit of measure can be long tons or metric tons depending on the country of origin. The ship can be measured in light condition, fully loaded, or normal (usually fully loaded, but with about two-thirds of fuel and unconsumables). For official purposes, the Washington Naval Treaty introduced the standard displacement, which was the displacement fully loaded but with no fuel or reserve feed water.

Answer 3

This is an excellent question. The theory is based on Archimedes principle which states that one cubic inch of sea water is .443 lbs. A ship must not displace more than that per square inch of sea water or it will break "surface tension" and sink. Think of driving on sand with deflated tires versus tires filled with air. The steel ships spread their weight over a large area and therefore maintain buoyancy.

Answer 4

it's called water displacement. you can actually make a boat out of almost any material even cement. you just have to engineer it to displace the volume of water. try some experiments with your daughter in the kitchen sink. use like a bowl or glass and show here how it will float when it's not filled up with water. also its good your daughter is interested in how things work. good luck

Answer 5

and here's another way to look at it......anything with a specific gravity less than water will float.....wood, styrofoam, paper....and while a chunk of steel has a s.g. way above that of water, when it's fashioned into a boat shape, you average the s.g. of the steel with all the air inside the boat's volume and EUREKA...it floats!

Answer 6

haha..what the people are trying to say before me is..that the middle of the boat is all air..and like that dude says..as long as its not filled with water..it should float

Answer 7

metal ship float,because of buoyancy, and also when an object has a bigger volume than it's mass it will float as the relation density is equal to mass divided by volume.

Answer 8

anything can float as long as it displace,s enough water to compensate for weight.

Answer 9

sent her to maritime academy when she graduates.She will be good mariner.

Answer 10

displacement