2007-08-23 12:15:57 · 8 answers · asked by zipperip 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
Any floating object will be partly above the water and partly below. The floating object will displace water until the volume of water displaced has the same mass as the floating object. At this point there is an equilibrium and the object will sink no farther (unless more mass is added).
Steel is a very dense material. Much more dense than water. A ship however is not a slab of steel. It will have large voids inside. If one takes the ratio of the total mass of the ship over the total volume of the ship the average density can be found. The average density of the ship including the cargo must be less the density of water for the ship to float.
Note that if the voids in the ship are filled with water the ship will sink.
2007-08-23 19:17:45 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Archimedes's principle. A floating object is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the water it displaces. A steel ship is a thin shell with air space inside. Its weight is the weight of the steel, but its buoyancy is the weight of the water it displaces.
The displaced water weighs much more than the steel of the ship's structure, so it floats.
For much more information, with pictures and diagrams, try an Internet search on "archimedes principle," or on "buoyancy."
2007-08-23 19:25:36 · answer #2 · answered by aviophage 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
When a boat is placed in the water is descends until the weight of the displaced water is equal to the weight of the boat (and contents).
2007-08-23 19:27:38 · answer #3 · answered by jsardi56 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
due to average weigh and dentisy are smaller then water the differences of the two keeps steel boats afloat.
Steel bars stink due to the weight and dentisy of the steel bars are heavier then the water.
2007-08-23 19:27:53 · answer #4 · answered by firefighter 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Beacause the surface area they cover and the water they displace is greater than the weight of the boat.
2007-08-23 19:18:43 · answer #5 · answered by justbeingher 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Because it is made of steel and it is able to float
2007-08-23 19:22:34 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
Displacement!!!!!!!!!!! That is when your vessel weighs less than the amount of water it is displacing. Salt water and fresh water are different----freash water is more dense than salt water. That's why submarines react very differently in fresh water than they do in salt water. Also surface vessel's , their water line is lower making any larger veesel designed for salt water less stable in fresh water.
2007-08-23 19:42:08 · answer #7 · answered by carl d 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Because of their shape
2007-08-23 19:19:10 · answer #8 · answered by ajhbubs84 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋