Archimedes’ Principle
Archimedes’ Principle
When you rise from lounging in a warm bath, your arms feel strangely heavy. This is because you no longer have the buoyant support of the water. Where does this buoyant force come from? Why is it that some things float and others do not? Do objects that sink get any support at all from the fluid? Is your body buoyed by the atmosphere, or are only helium balloons affected? (See the figure below.)
(a) Even objects that sink, like this anchor, are partly supported by water when submerged. (b) Submarines have adjustable density (ballast tanks) so that they may float or sink as desired. (credit: Allied Navy) (c) Helium-filled balloons tug upward on their strings, demonstrating air’s buoyant effect. (credit: Crystl)
Answers to all these questions, and many others, are based on the fact that pressure increases with depth in a fluid. This means that the upward force on the bottom of an object in a fluid is greater than the downward force on the top of the object. There is a net upward, or buoyant force on any object in any fluid. (See the figure below.) If the buoyant force is greater than the object’s weight, the object will rise to the surface and float. If the buoyant force is less than the object’s weight, the object will sink. If the buoyant force equals the object’s weight, the object will remain suspended at that depth. The buoyant force is always present whether the object floats, sinks, or is suspended in a fluid.
Buoyant Force
The buoyant force is the net upward force on any object in any fluid.
Pressure due to the weight of a fluid increases with depth since \(P=\mathrm{h\rho g}\). This pressure and associated upward force on the bottom of the cylinder are greater than the downward force on the top of the cylinder. Their difference is the buoyant force \({\mathbf{\text{F}}}_{\text{B}}\). (Horizontal forces cancel.)
Just how great is this buoyant force? To answer this question, think about what happens when a submerged object is removed from a fluid, as in the figure below.
(a) An object submerged in a fluid experiences a buoyant force \({F}_{\text{B}}\). If \({F}_{\text{B}}\) is greater than the weight of the object, the object will rise. If \({F}_{\text{B}}\) is less than the weight of the object, the object will sink. (b) If the object is removed, it is replaced by fluid having weight \({w}_{\text{fl}}\). Since this weight is supported by surrounding fluid, the buoyant force must equal the weight of the fluid displaced. That is, \({F}_{\text{B}}={w}_{\text{fl}}\),a statement of Archimedes’ principle.
The space it occupied is filled by fluid having a weight \({w}_{\text{fl}}\). This weight is supported by the surrounding fluid, and so the buoyant force must equal \({w}_{\text{fl}}\), the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. It is a tribute to the genius of the Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes (ca. 287–212 B.C.) that he stated this principle long before concepts of force were well established. Stated in words, Archimedes’ principle is as follows: The buoyant force on an object equals the weight of the fluid it displaces. In equation form, Archimedes’ principle is
where \({F}_{\text{B}}\) is the buoyant force and \({w}_{\text{fl}}\) is the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. Archimedes’ principle is valid in general, for any object in any fluid, whether partially or totally submerged.
Archimedes’ Principle
According to this principle the buoyant force on an object equals the weight of the fluid it displaces. In equation form, Archimedes’ principle is
\({F}_{\text{B}}={w}_{\text{fl}},\)
where \({F}_{\text{B}}\) is the buoyant force and \({w}_{\text{fl}}\) is the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.
Humm … High-tech body swimsuits were introduced in 2008 in preparation for the Beijing Olympics. One concern (and international rule) was that these suits should not provide any buoyancy advantage. How do you think that this rule could be verified?
Making Connections: Take-Home Investigation
The density of aluminum foil is 2.7 times the density of water. Take a piece of foil, roll it up into a ball and drop it into water. Does it sink? Why or why not? Can you make it sink?
This lesson is part of:
Fluid Statics