Archimedes paradox

The Archimedes paradox, named after Archimedes of Syracuse, states that an object can float in a quantity of water that has less volume than the object itself, if its average density is less than that of water.

The implication of this is that a large, massive object can float in a relatively small volume of liquid, provided that it is completely surrounded by it. One extreme application of the paradox is that a battleship can float in a relatively small volume of water, provided that the water surrounds the hull completely and that the ship would have floated had it been in open water.

Origin

Archimedes' principle (also referred to as the Law of Buoyancy) states that "The buoyant force is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid.".

In the case of a ship, the upward force exerted on it is equal to the weight of water of equal volume to the part of the ship that is submerged. If this upward force is greater than the weight of the ship, then the ship will float.

The Archimedes Paradox implies that if a mould of the hull of ship is made and a relatively small amount of water is placed in the mould, then the ship would float on the thin layer of water between itself and the mould, even though the total volume of water is much less than the volume of the ship.

Explanation

The paradox originates from the fact that the volume of the immersed part of the object is important, not the actual volume of water that is displaced by it. In other words, no fluid needs to be actually displaced for Archimedes' principle to take effect. The object merely needs to be surrounded by the fluid.

One method offered to visualize the solution to the paradox is to conduct a simple thought experiment. Instead of a ship suspended in the water, imagine a lightweight bucket filled with water. Since the density of the bucket of water is the same as the water in the dock, the bucket would remain suspended, or floating. Nothing changes hydrostatically by replacing the bucket with a ship of equal or lower density than water (which it would have to be or else it would sink in open water anyway), therefore the ship would also float.

References

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External links

* [http://www.wiskit.com/marilyn/battleship.html Can a Battleship Float on a Gallon of Water?]