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Buoyancy
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Inscience,buoyancy(pronunciation:/b.nsi/[1][2]or/bujnsi/[1][2]also
knownasupthrust)isanupwardforceexertedbyafluidthatopposesthe
weightofanimmersedobject.Inacolumnoffluid,pressureincreaseswith
depthasaresultoftheweightoftheoverlyingfluid.Thusthepressureat
thebottomofacolumnoffluidisgreaterthanatthetopofthecolumn.
Similarly,thepressureatthebottomofanobjectsubmergedinafluidis
greaterthanatthetopoftheobject.Thispressuredifferenceresultsinanet
upwardsforceontheobject.Themagnitudeofthatforceexertedis
proportionaltothatpressuredifference,and(asexplainedbyArchimedes'
principle)isequivalenttotheweightofthefluidthatwouldotherwise
occupythevolumeoftheobject,i.e.thedisplacedfluid.
Forthisreason,anobjectwhosedensityisgreaterthanthatofthefluidin
whichitissubmergedtendstosink.Iftheobjectiseitherlessdensethan
theliquidorisshapedappropriately(asinaboat),theforcecankeepthe
objectafloat.Thiscanoccuronlyinareferenceframewhicheitherhasa
gravitationalfieldorisacceleratingduetoaforceotherthangravity
defininga"downward"direction(thatis,anoninertialreferenceframe).In
asituationoffluidstatics,thenetupwardbuoyancyforceisequaltothe
magnitudeoftheweightoffluiddisplacedbythebody.[3]

Theforcesatworkinbuoyancy.Note
thattheobjectisfloatingbecausethe
upwardforceofbuoyancyisequalto
thedownwardforceofgravity.

Thecenterofbuoyancyofanobjectisthecentroidofthedisplacedvolumeoffluid.

Contents
1 Archimedes'principle
2 Forcesandequilibrium
2.1 Simplifiedmodel
2.2 Stability
3 Compressiblefluidsandobjects
3.1 Compressibleobjects
3.1.1 Submarines
3.1.2 Balloons
3.1.3 Divers
4 Density
5 Seealso
6 References
7 Externallinks

Archimedes'principle
Archimedes'principleisnamedafterArchimedesofSyracuse,whofirstdiscoveredthislawin212B.C.[4]For
objects,floatingandsunken,andingasesaswellasliquids(i.e.afluid),Archimedes'principlemaybestatedthus
intermsofforces:
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Anyobject,whollyorpartiallyimmersedinafluid,isbuoyed
upbyaforceequaltotheweightofthefluiddisplacedbythe
object.
ArchimedesofSyracuse
withtheclarificationsthatforasunkenobjectthevolumeofdisplacedfluid
isthevolumeoftheobject,andforafloatingobjectonaliquid,theweight
ofthedisplacedliquidistheweightoftheobject.
Moretersely:Buoyancy=weightofdisplacedfluid.
Archimedes'principledoesnotconsiderthesurfacetension(capillarity)
actingonthebody,[5]butthisadditionalforcemodifiesonlytheamountof
fluiddisplaced,sotheprinciplethatBuoyancy=weightofdisplacedfluid
remainsvalid.

Ametalliccoin(oneBritishpound
coin)floatsinmercuryduetothe
buoyancyforceuponitandappearsto
floathigherbecauseofthesurface
tensionofthemercury.

Theweightofthedisplacedfluidisdirectlyproportionaltothevolumeofthedisplacedfluid(ifthesurrounding
fluidisofuniformdensity).Insimpleterms,theprinciplestatesthatthebuoyancyforceonanobjectisequaltothe
weightofthefluiddisplacedbytheobject,orthedensityofthefluidmultipliedbythesubmergedvolumetimes
thegravitationalacceleration,g.Thus,amongcompletelysubmergedobjectswithequalmasses,objectswith
greatervolumehavegreaterbuoyancy.Thisisalsoknownasupthrust.
Supposearock'sweightismeasuredas10newtonswhensuspendedbyastringinavacuumwithgravityacting
uponit.Supposethatwhentherockisloweredintowater,itdisplaceswaterofweight3newtons.Theforceitthen
exertsonthestringfromwhichithangswouldbe10newtonsminusthe3newtonsofbuoyancyforce:103=7
newtons.Buoyancyreducestheapparentweightofobjectsthathavesunkcompletelytotheseafloor.Itis
generallyeasiertoliftanobjectupthroughthewaterthanitistopullitoutofthewater.
AssumingArchimedes'principletobereformulatedasfollows,

theninsertedintothequotientofweights,whichhasbeenexpandedbythemutualvolume

yieldstheformulabelow.Thedensityoftheimmersedobjectrelativetothedensityofthefluidcaneasilybe
calculatedwithoutmeasuringanyvolumes.:

(Thisformulaisusedforexampleindescribingthemeasuringprincipleofadasymeterandofhydrostatic
weighing.)
Example:Ifyoudropwoodintowater,buoyancywillkeepitafloat.

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Example:Aheliumballooninamovingcar.Duringaperiodofincreasingspeed,theairmassinsidethecarmoves
inthedirectionoppositetothecar'sacceleration(i.e.,towardstherear).Theballoonisalsopulledthisway.
However,becausetheballoonisbuoyantrelativetotheair,itendsupbeingpushed"outoftheway",andwill
actuallydriftinthesamedirectionasthecar'sacceleration(i.e.,forward).Ifthecarslowsdown,thesameballoon
willbegintodriftbackward.Forthesamereason,asthecargoesroundacurve,theballoonwilldrifttowardsthe
insideofthecurve.

Forcesandequilibrium
Thisistheequationtocalculatethepressureinsideafluidinequilibrium.Thecorrespondingequilibriumequation
is:

wherefistheforcedensityexertedbysomeouterfieldonthefluid,andistheCauchystresstensor.Inthiscase
thestresstensorisproportionaltotheidentitytensor:

HereijistheKroneckerdelta.Usingthistheaboveequationbecomes:

Assumingtheouterforcefieldisconservative,thatisitcanbewrittenasthenegativegradientofsomescalar
valuedfunction:

Then:

Therefore,theshapeoftheopensurfaceofafluidequalstheequipotentialplaneoftheappliedouterconservative
forcefield.Letthezaxispointdownward.Inthiscasethefieldisgravity,so=fgzwheregisthegravitational
acceleration,fisthemassdensityofthefluid.Takingthepressureaszeroatthesurface,whereziszero,the
constantwillbezero,sothepressureinsidethefluid,whenitissubjecttogravity,is

Sopressureincreaseswithdepthbelowthesurfaceofaliquid,aszdenotesthedistancefromthesurfaceofthe
liquidintoit.Anyobjectwithanonzeroverticaldepthwillhavedifferentpressuresonitstopandbottom,with
thepressureonthebottombeinggreater.Thisdifferenceinpressurecausestheupwardbuoyancyforces.
Thebuoyancyforceexertedonabodycannowbecalculatedeasily,sincetheinternalpressureofthefluidis
known.Theforceexertedonthebodycanbecalculatedbyintegratingthestresstensoroverthesurfaceofthe
bodywhichisincontactwiththefluid:

ThesurfaceintegralcanbetransformedintoavolumeintegralwiththehelpoftheGausstheorem:
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whereVisthemeasureofthevolumeincontactwiththefluid,thatisthevolumeofthesubmergedpartofthe
body.Sincethefluiddoesn'texertforceonthepartofthebodywhichisoutsideofit.
Themagnitudeofbuoyancyforcemaybeappreciatedabitmorefromthefollowingargument.Consideranyobject
ofarbitraryshapeandvolumeVsurroundedbyaliquid.Theforcetheliquidexertsonanobjectwithintheliquidis
equaltotheweightoftheliquidwithavolumeequaltothatoftheobject.Thisforceisappliedinadirection
oppositetogravitationalforce,thatisofmagnitude:

wherefisthedensityofthefluid,Vdispisthevolumeofthedisplacedbodyofliquid,andgisthegravitational
accelerationatthelocationinquestion.
Ifthisvolumeofliquidisreplacedbyasolidbodyofexactlythesameshape,theforcetheliquidexertsonitmust
beexactlythesameasabove.Inotherwords,the"buoyancyforce"onasubmergedbodyisdirectedinthe
oppositedirectiontogravityandisequalinmagnitudeto

ThenetforceontheobjectmustbezeroifitistobeasituationoffluidstaticssuchthatArchimedesprincipleis
applicable,andisthusthesumofthebuoyancyforceandtheobject'sweight

Ifthebuoyancyofan(unrestrainedandunpowered)objectexceedsitsweight,ittendstorise.Anobjectwhose
weightexceedsitsbuoyancytendstosink.Calculationoftheupwardsforceonasubmergedobjectduringits
acceleratingperiodcannotbedonebytheArchimedesprinciplealoneitisnecessarytoconsiderdynamicsofan
objectinvolvingbuoyancy.Onceitfullysinkstothefloorofthefluidorrisestothesurfaceandsettles,
Archimedesprinciplecanbeappliedalone.Forafloatingobject,onlythesubmergedvolumedisplaceswater.For
asunkenobject,theentirevolumedisplaceswater,andtherewillbeanadditionalforceofreactionfromthesolid
floor.
InorderforArchimedes'principletobeusedalone,theobjectinquestionmustbeinequilibrium(thesumofthe
forcesontheobjectmustbezero),therefore

andtherefore

showingthatthedepthtowhichafloatingobjectwillsink,andthevolumeoffluiditwilldisplace,isindependent
ofthegravitationalfieldregardlessofgeographiclocation.
(Note:Ifthefluidinquestionisseawater,itwillnothavethesamedensity()ateverylocation.Forthis
reason,ashipmaydisplayaPlimsollline.)
Itcanbethecasethatforcesotherthanjustbuoyancyandgravitycomeintoplay.Thisisthecaseiftheobjectis
restrainedoriftheobjectsinkstothesolidfloor.AnobjectwhichtendstofloatrequiresatensionrestraintforceT
inordertoremainfullysubmerged.Anobjectwhichtendstosinkwilleventuallyhaveanormalforceofconstraint
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Nexerteduponitbythesolidfloor.Theconstraintforcecanbetensioninaspringscalemeasuringitsweightin
thefluid,andishowapparentweightisdefined.
Iftheobjectwouldotherwisefloat,thetensiontorestrainitfullysubmergedis:

Whenasinkingobjectsettlesonthesolidfloor,itexperiencesanormalforceof:

Anotherpossibleformulaforcalculatingbuoyancyofanobjectisbyfindingtheapparentweightofthatparticular
objectintheair(calculatedinNewtons),andapparentweightofthatobjectinthewater(inNewtons).Tofindthe
forceofbuoyancyactingontheobjectwheninair,usingthisparticularinformation,thisformulaapplies:
'Buoyancyforce=weightofobjectinemptyspaceweightofobjectimmersedinfluid'
ThefinalresultwouldbemeasuredinNewtons.
Air'sdensityisverysmallcomparedtomostsolidsandliquids.Forthisreason,theweightofanobjectinairis
approximatelythesameasitstrueweightinavacuum.Thebuoyancyofairisneglectedformostobjectsduringa
measurementinairbecausetheerrorisusuallyinsignificant(typicallylessthan0.1%exceptforobjectsofvery
lowaveragedensitysuchasaballoonorlightfoam).

Simplifiedmodel
Asimplifiedexplanationfortheintegrationofthepressureoverthecontact
areamaybestatedasfollows:
Consideracubeimmersedinafluidwiththeuppersurfacehorizontal.
Thesidesareidenticalinarea,andhavethesamedepthdistribution,
thereforetheyalsohavethesamepressuredistribution,andconsequently
thesametotalforceresultingfromhydrostaticpressure,exerted
perpendiculartotheplaneofthesurfaceofeachside.
Therearetwopairsofopposingsides,thereforetheresultanthorizontal
forcesbalanceinbothorthogonaldirections,andtheresultantforceiszero.

Pressuredistributiononanimmersed
cube

Theupwardforceonthecubeisthepressureonthebottomsurface
integratedoveritsarea.Thesurfaceisatconstantdepth,sothepressureis
constant.Therefore,theintegralofthepressureovertheareaofthe
horizontalbottomsurfaceofthecubeisthehydrostaticpressureatthat
depthmultipliedbytheareaofthebottomsurface.
Similarly,thedownwardforceonthecubeisthepressureonthetopsurface
integratedoveritsarea.Thesurfaceisatconstantdepth,sothepressureis
constant.Therefore,theintegralofthepressureovertheareaofthe
horizontaltopsurfaceofthecubeisthehydrostaticpressureatthatdepth
multipliedbytheareaofthetopsurface.

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Asthisisacube,thetopandbottomsurfacesareidenticalinshapeand
area,andthepressuredifferencebetweenthetopandbottomofthecubeis
directlyproportionaltothedepthdifference,andtheresultantforce
differenceisexactlyequaltotheweightofthefluidthatwouldoccupythe
volumeofthecubeinitsabsence.
Thismeansthattheresultantupwardforceonthecubeisequaltothe
weightofthefluidthatwouldfitintothevolumeofthecube,andthe
downwardforceonthecubeisitsweight,intheabsenceofexternalforces.
Thisanalogyisvalidforvariationsinthesizeofthecube.

Approximationofanarbitrary
volumeasagroupofcubes

Iftwocubesareplacedalongsideeachotherwithafaceofeachincontact,
thepressuresandresultantforcesonthesidesorpartsthereofincontactarebalancedandmaybedisregarded,as
thecontactsurfacesareequalinshape,sizeandpressuredistribution,thereforethebuoyancyoftwocubesin
contactisthesumofthebuoyanciesofeachcube.Thisanalogycanbeextendedtoanarbitrarynumberofcubes.
Anobjectofanyshapecanbeapproximatedasagroupofcubesincontactwitheachother,andasthesizeofthe
cubeisdecreased,theprecisionoftheapproximationincreases.Thelimitingcaseforinfinitelysmallcubesisthe
exactequivalence.
Angledsurfacesdonotnullifytheanalogyastheresultantforcecanbesplitintoorthogonalcomponentsandeach
dealtwithinthesameway.

Stability
Afloatingobjectisstableifittendstorestoreitselftoanequilibrium
positionafterasmalldisplacement.Forexample,floatingobjectswill
generallyhaveverticalstability,asiftheobjectispusheddownslightly,
thiswillcreateagreaterbuoyancyforce,which,unbalancedbytheweight
force,willpushtheobjectbackup.
Rotationalstabilityisofgreatimportancetofloatingvessels.Givenasmall
angulardisplacement,thevesselmayreturntoitsoriginalposition(stable),
moveawayfromitsoriginalposition(unstable),orremainwhereitis
(neutral).
Rotationalstabilitydependsontherelativelinesofactionofforcesonan
object.Theupwardbuoyancyforceonanobjectactsthroughthecenterof
buoyancy,beingthecentroidofthedisplacedvolumeoffluid.Theweight
forceontheobjectactsthroughitscenterofgravity.Abuoyantobjectwill
bestableifthecenterofgravityisbeneaththecenterofbuoyancybecause
anyangulardisplacementwillthenproducea'rightingmoment'.

Illustrationofthestabilityofbottom
heavy(left)andtopheavy(right)
shipswithrespecttothepositionsof
theircentresofbuoyancy(CB)and
gravity(CG)

Thestabilityofabuoyantobjectatthesurfaceismorecomplex,anditmay
remainstableevenifthecentreofgravityisabovethecentreofbuoyancy,providedthatwhendisturbedfromthe
equilibriumposition,thecentreofbuoyancymovesfurthertothesamesidethatthecentreofgravitymoves,thus
providingapositiverightingmoment.Ifthisoccurs,thefloatingobjectissaidtohaveapositivemetacentric
height.Thissituationistypicallyvalidforarangeofheelangles,beyondwhichthecentreofbuoyancydoesnot
moveenoughtoprovideapositiverightingmoment,andtheobjectbecomesunstable.Itispossibletoshiftfrom
positivetonegativeorviceversamorethanonceduringaheelingdisturbance,andmanyshapesarestableinmore
thanoneposition.
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Compressiblefluidsandobjects
Theatmosphere'sdensitydependsuponaltitude.Asanairshiprisesintheatmosphere,itsbuoyancydecreasesas
thedensityofthesurroundingairdecreases.Incontrast,asasubmarineexpelswaterfromitsbuoyancytanks,it
risesbecauseitsvolumeisconstant(thevolumeofwateritdisplacesifitisfullysubmerged)whileitsmassis
decreased.

Compressibleobjects
Asafloatingobjectrisesorfalls,theforcesexternaltoitchangeand,asallobjectsarecompressibletosome
extentoranother,sodoestheobject'svolume.Buoyancydependsonvolumeandsoanobject'sbuoyancyreduces
ifitiscompressedandincreasesifitexpands.
Ifanobjectatequilibriumhasacompressibilitylessthanthatofthesurroundingfluid,theobject'sequilibriumis
stableanditremainsatrest.If,however,itscompressibilityisgreater,itsequilibriumisthenunstable,anditrises
andexpandsontheslightestupwardperturbation,orfallsandcompressesontheslightestdownwardperturbation.
Submarines
Submarinesriseanddivebyfillinglargetankswithseawater.Todive,thetanksareopenedtoallowairtoexhaust
outthetopofthetanks,whilethewaterflowsinfromthebottom.Oncetheweighthasbeenbalancedsothe
overalldensityofthesubmarineisequaltothewateraroundit,ithasneutralbuoyancyandwillremainatthat
depth.Mostmilitarysubmarinesoperatewithaslightlynegativebuoyancyandmaintaindepthbyusingthe"lift"
ofthestabilizerswithforwardmotion.
Balloons
Theheighttowhichaballoonrisestendstobestable.Asaballoonrisesittendstoincreaseinvolumewith
reducingatmosphericpressure,buttheballoonitselfdoesnotexpandasmuchastheaironwhichitrides.The
averagedensityoftheballoondecreaseslessthanthatofthesurroundingair.Theweightofthedisplacedairis
reduced.Arisingballoonstopsrisingwhenitandthedisplacedairareequalinweight.Similarly,asinkingballoon
tendstostopsinking.
Divers
Underwaterdiversareacommonexampleoftheproblemofunstablebuoyancyduetocompressibility.Thediver
typicallywearsanexposuresuitwhichreliesongasfilledspacesforinsulation,andmayalsowearabuoyancy
compensator,whichisavariablevolumebuoyancybagwhichisinflatedtoincreasebuoyancyanddeflatedto
decreasebuoyancy.Thedesiredconditionisusuallyneutralbuoyancywhenthediverisswimminginmidwater,
andthisconditionisunstable,sothediverisconstantlymakingfineadjustmentsbycontroloflungvolume,and
hastoadjustthecontentsofthebuoyancycompensatorifthedepthvaries.

Density
Iftheweightofanobjectislessthantheweightofthedisplacedfluidwhenfullysubmerged,thentheobjecthas
anaveragedensitythatislessthanthefluidandwhenfullysubmergedwillexperienceabuoyancyforcegreater
thanitsownweight.Ifthefluidhasasurface,suchaswaterinalakeorthesea,theobjectwillfloatandsettleata
levelwhereitdisplacesthesameweightoffluidastheweightoftheobject.Iftheobjectisimmersedinthefluid,
suchasasubmergedsubmarineorairinaballoon,itwilltendtorise.Iftheobjecthasexactlythesamedensityas
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thefluid,thenitsbuoyancyequalsitsweight.Itwillremainsubmergedinthefluid,butitwill
neithersinknorfloat,althoughadisturbanceineitherdirectionwillcauseittodriftawayfrom
itsposition.Anobjectwithahigheraveragedensitythanthefluidwillneverexperiencemore
buoyancythanweightanditwillsink.Ashipwillfloateventhoughitmaybemadeofsteel
(whichismuchdenserthanwater),becauseitenclosesavolumeofair(whichismuchless
densethanwater),andtheresultingshapehasanaveragedensitylessthanthatofthewater.

Seealso
Air
Archimedesparadox
Buoy
BruntVislfrequency
Buoyancycompensator(diving)
Buoyancycompensator(aviation)
Cartesiandiver
Dasymeter
Divingweightingsystem
Fluid
Hydrostatics
Galileothermometer

Hull(ship)
Hydrometer
Hydrostaticweighing
Lighterthanair
Navalarchitecture
Plimsollline
Pontoon
Quicksand
Saltfingering
Submarine
Swimbladder
Thrust

Densitycolumn
ofliquids&
solids:babyoil,
alcohol(with
redfood
coloring),
vegetableoil,
wax,water
(withbluefood
coloring),&
aluminum.

References
1.Wells,JohnC.(2008),LongmanPronunciationDictionary(3rded.),Longman,ISBN9781405881180
2.Roach,Peter(2011),CambridgeEnglishPronouncingDictionary(18thed.),Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,
ISBN9780521152532
3.Note:Intheabsenceofsurfacetension,themassoffluiddisplacedisequaltothesubmergedvolumemultipliedbythe
fluiddensity.Highrepulsivesurfacetensionwillcausethebodytofloathigherthanexpected,thoughthesametotal
volumewillbedisplaced,butatagreaterdistancefromtheobject.Wherethereisdoubtaboutthemeaningof"volumeof
fluiddisplaced",thisshouldbeinterpretedastheoverflowfromafullcontainerwhentheobjectisfloatedinit,orasthe
volumeoftheobjectbelowtheaveragelevelofthefluid.
4.Acott,Chris(1999)."Thediving"Lawers":Abriefresumeoftheirlives.".SouthPacificUnderwaterMedicineSociety
journal.29(1).ISSN08131988.OCLC16986801.Retrieved20090613..
5."Floaterclusteringinastandingwave:Capillarityeffectsdrivehydrophilicorhydrophobicparticlestocongregateat
specificpointsonawave"(PDF).23June2005.

Externallinks
FallinginWater(http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/phy99/phy9
Lookupbuoyancyin
9x88.htm)
Wiktionary,thefree
Archimedes'Principle(http://www.juliantrubin.com/bigten/archimed
dictionary.
esprinciple.html)backgroundandexperiment
BuoyancyQuest(http://www.buoyancyquest.com)(awebsite
WikimediaCommonshas
featuringbuoyancycontrolvideos)
mediarelatedtoBuoyancy.
W.H.Besant(1889)ElementaryHydrostatics(https://books.google.c
om/books?id=yGIVAAAAYAAJ)fromGoogleBooks.
NASA'sdefinitionofbuoyancy(https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k12/WindTunnel/Activities/buoy_Archime
des.html)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Buoyancy&oldid=731911037"
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