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Law of Flotation

Law of flotation is an application of archimedes' principle.

When a piece of wood of density more than water is placed on water, it sinks and displaces some water.

As it sinks, more and more water is displaced. This increases the buoyant force as the the buoyant force is equal to the weight of water displaced.

The wood will sink until the buoyant force equal its weight.

Therefore,

The law of flotation states that a floating object displaces its own weight of the fluid in which it floats.

Weight of floating object= weight of fluid displaced

Mass of floating object = mass of fluid displaced

Any changes in the density of the surrounding liquid affects the level in which an object floats.

Applying Archimedes' Principle


Steel is denser than water. However they still float, why?Have you ever wondered why hot air balloon floats in the air? Even though the mass of the balloon is big?

Archimedes (287-212 B.C.) was a greek scientist who first discovered that "an object submerged in a liquid is acted on by an upward buoyant force (or upthrust)."

The buoyant force is due to the surrounding liquid which causes the object to weigh less in the liquid. Archimedes realised that submerged objects always displace liquid upwards, (when you put an ice to a glass of water, the water level rise). Later he did show that the upthrust is equal to the weight of water displaced.

Archimedes' principle states that an object, whether completely or partially immersed in a fluid, is acted on by a buoyant force, which is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced.

Application of Archimedes' Principle


1. Submarine: A submarine has a large ballast tank, which is used to control its position and depth from the surface of the sea.

A submarine submerges by letting water into the ballast tank so that its weight becomes greater than the buoyant force (and vice versa). It floats by reducing water in the ballast tank.-thus its weight is less than the buoyant force. 2. Hot-air balloon The atmosphere is filled with air that exerts buoyant force on any object.

A hot air balloon rises and floats due to the buoyant force (when the surrounding air is greater than its weight). It descends when the balloon weight is more than the buoyant force. It becomes stationary when the weight = buoyant force. The weight of the Hot-air balloon can be controlled by varying the quantity of hot air in the balloon. 3. Hydrometer A hydrometer is an instrument to measure the relative density of liquids.

It consists of a tube with a bulb at one end. Lead shots are placed in the bulb to weigh it down and enable the hydrometer to float vertically in the liquid.

In a liquid of lesser density, a greater volume of liquid must be displaced for the buoyant force to equal to the weight of the hydrometer so it sinks lower. Hydrometer floats higher in a liquid of higher density. Density is measured in the unit of g cm-3. 4. SHIP

A ship floats on the surface of the sea because the volume of water displaced by the ship is enough to have a weight equal to the weight of the ship. A ship is constucted in a way so that the shape is hollow, to make the overall density of the ship lesser than the sea water. Therefore, the buoyant force acting on the ship is large enough to support its weight. The density of sea water varies with location. The PLIMSOLL LINE marked on the body of the ship acts as a guideline to ensure that the ship is loaded within the safety limit. A ship submerge lower in fresh water as fresh water density is lesser than sea water. Ships will float higher in cold water as cold water has a relatively higher density than warm water. 5. Fishes Certain group of fishes uses Archimedes principles to go up and down the water. To go up to the surface, the fishes will fill its swim bladder (air sacs) with gases. The gases diffuse from its own body to the bladder and thus making its body lighter. This enables the fishes to go up. To go down, the fishes will empty their bladder, this increases its density and therefore the fish will sink.

6. FLIP Floating instrument platform. This is a research ship that does research on waves in deep water. It can turn horizontally or vertically. When water is pumped into stern tanks, the ship will flip vertically. The principle that is used in FLIP is almost similar with the submarines. Both ships pump water in or out

What Causes Buoyant Force?


The difference between the forces acting on the UPPER surface and the LOWER surface is the net force acting UPWARDS.

This net force is known as the BUOYANT FORCE.

Say, Force acting on the upper surface, F1 = P1 A = h1pgA

Force Acting Underside, F2 = P2 A = h2pgA

Net Force Acting Upwards = Buoyant Force = Weight of Liquid Displaced = mg

Therefore, the buoyant force is equal to the weight of liquid displaced, which is in accordance with Archimedes' Principle of tank to rise or sink.

Buoyant Force and Flotation

In the above figure, the object is lowered into the water, the following observations are made. i) The object experiences a reduction in weight. The object of the weight in water is less than its weight in air. The apparent loss in weight of the obejct is caused by the buoyant force of the surrounding water on the object. Apparent loss in weight of object =Weight of object - weight of object in water. ii) The object displaces a vlume of water. Volume of water displaced = volume of the submerged part of the stone iii) From the figure, the apparent loss in weight is due to the buoyant force. Therefore : Bouyant Force = Actual weight - weight in water = (Say) 70N - 40 N = 30 N

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