Buoyancy Definition and 413 Threads

Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the pressure at the bottom of a column of fluid is greater than at the top of the column. Similarly, the pressure at the bottom of an object submerged in a fluid is greater than at the top of the object. The pressure difference results in a net upward force on the object. The magnitude of the force is proportional to the pressure difference, and (as explained by Archimedes' principle) is equivalent to the weight of the fluid that would otherwise occupy the submerged volume of the object, i.e. the displaced fluid.
For this reason, an object whose average density is greater than that of the fluid in which it is submerged tends to sink. If the object is less dense than the liquid, the force can keep the object afloat. This can occur only in a non-inertial reference frame, which either has a gravitational field or is accelerating due to a force other than gravity defining a "downward" direction.Buoyancy also applies to fluid mixtures, and is the most common driving force of convection currents. In these cases, the mathematical modelling is altered to apply to continuua, but the principles remain the same. Examples of buoyancy driven flows include the spontaneous separation of air and water or oil and water.
The center of buoyancy of an object is the center of gravity of the displaced volume of fluid.

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  1. V

    Buoyant force on a submerged body

    Homework Statement A hemispherical portion of radius R is removed from the bottom of a cylinder of radius R. The volume of the remaining cylinder is V and its mass is M. It is suspended by a string in a liquid of density ρ where it stays vertical. The upper surface of the cylinder is at a depth...
  2. Z

    How to Calculate Upward Force on Each Anchorage?

    Homework Statement A steel pipeline carrying gas has an internal diameter of 120 cm and an external diameter of 125 cm. It is laid across the bed of a river, completely immersed in water and is anchored at intervals of 3 m along its length. Calculate the buoyancy force per meter run. Upward...
  3. Brilli

    What is the Critical Density for a Wedge in Water?

    Homework Statement If a beam with square cross-section and very low density is placed in water, it will turn one pair of its long opposite faces horizontal. This orientation, however, becomes unstable as we increase its density. Find the critical density when this transition occurs. The density...
  4. Amaterasu21

    B Archimedes' Principle for gases - derivation?

    Hi all, I understand where Archimedes' Principle comes from in liquids: If we imagine a cylinder immersed in a liquid of density ρ whose cross-sectional area is A and whose top is at depth h1 and whose bottom is at depth h2: Force(top of cylinder) FT = ρgh1A Force(bottom of cylinder) FB =...
  5. Pranav

    B Why Does a Cube Float When Dipped in Water?

    Imagine a container containing water up to 100cm of its height then I dip a cube of plastic in the water on depth of 75cm. We all know it will float because of its less density, but if we go with Pascal Law, The pressure/force applied by the water above the cube is more than than the buoyant...
  6. T

    I Object suspended over an empty bucket

    I was recently tutoring a first year student, and a question of her assignment was as follows: Suppose that that you have a bucket of water over a scale. If you then partially submerge an iron rod in the water, while holding the rod so that it does not touches the bucket, will the reading on...
  7. F

    I What is the location of the center of buoyancy and how is it determined?

    Hello everyone, According to Archimedes' principle, a solid body immersed in fluid (gas or liquid) always experiences a net upward buoyant force due to pressure variations occurring within he hosting fluid. Pressure calculations show that the buoyant force magnitude is equal to the magnitude...
  8. Emmanuel

    Using Archimedes' principle in engineering applications

    Homework Statement A cylindrical buoy floats in sea water with its axis vertical so that it's three-fourths submerged. The buoy is 0.8m in diameter and 2m in height. Its fabricated from iron plate 10mm thick. Calculate the mass of iron chain securing the buoy. The relative density of iron is...
  9. S

    Buoyancy: Cube of Iron - solved this correctly?

    Hi, Just wondering if I'm going about solving this problem correctly: "A block of iron quickly sinks in water, but ships constructed of iron float. A solid cube of iron 1.6 m on each side is made into sheets. From these sheets, to make a hollow cube that will not sink, what should the minimum...
  10. W

    Conservation of Buoyancy: Explained & Applied

    Hi, all and thanks for your time. I did read that the conservation of Buoyancy is an "alternative" conservation of energy under some hypothesis. Can someone explain how do I start from the conservation of energy and find the conservation of buoyancy? Are there some corresponding mathematical...
  11. J

    B Upthrust & Buoyancy: Does Surface Area Matter?

    Hi, Really quick general question but is upthrust independent of surface area. I came across the following: "Heavy things can float on water if there is sufficient surface area to produce a big enough upthrust at a particular depth" My thinking that this is incorrect is based on the...
  12. N

    Buoyancy of a sealed hemisphere underwater

    Homework Statement You have a hemisphere, like half a ping pong ball for example, sitting in a cup under a few centimeters of water. The hemisphere is sealed to the bottom so that no water can get underneath it. What is the buoyant force the hemisphere experiences? Homework Equations P = P0 +...
  13. P

    Is Newton's 3rd law sufficient to explain buoyancy force?

    I assigned a question: Explain the physics mechanism that results in the buoyancy force. Some students replied: The floating object is interacting with the water. Therefore it exerts a downward force on the water. The water then exerts an upward force on the object due to Newton's Third Law...
  14. Hiero

    I Theorem behind Archimedes principle of buoyancy?

    I was thinking about why the buoyant force on an object should depend solely on it's volume and not shape. It seems loosely like the divergence theorem in that an integral over the surface is determined by the volume. There is a big difference though; in the divergence theorem we integrate...
  15. C

    I Buoyancy of Helium and Hydrogen Balloons: Calculations and STP Considerations

    As a note, this is my first post on this site. I was looking at some bouyancy calculations with regard to balloons being in air when I came across this post. I cannot understand why the calculation for the net force of bouyancy done by Vintage (the last post on the page) does not include the...
  16. Ahmad Esber

    B Is it possible to harvest energy from fluid buoyancy?

    So I've noticed my little sister's helium balloons floating at the ceiling. Made me wonder if someone could create a device that could harvest energy from this buoyancy. What if I tied a very long rope to a huge balloon filled with helium, and rolled the other end of the rope to a gear attached...
  17. T

    Buoyancy question -- A raft with different loads....

    Homework Statement [/B] A Raft with dimensions, 5m for length, 3m wide and 0.12m thick, is placed on water. The raft has a density of 320 kg/m^3. a) What volume of the raft is submerged into water, if the density of water is 1150 kg/m^3? b) A man and his elephant board the raft. How...
  18. Y

    Buoyancy: 3 solid things have a different position in the water

    Homework Statement There is three things P, Q, R. The density of P is 2000 kg/m3, Q is 1000 kg/m3, R is 2500 kg/m3. If all of them are put into the water having density 1000 kg/m3, the correct position of the things are shown by following picture ... [PLAIN]http:// Homework Equations When ρ...
  19. Poetria

    Centre of gravity, centre of buoyancy (image)

    Homework Statement The first image: Without information on the interior construction of the boat or the mass distribution of the exterior shell of the boat, which of the following points can be the boat's center of gravity? The second image: Our boat from the previous question is now...
  20. T

    Optimizing Mass for Vertical Rod Buoyancy in Unknown Fluid

    Homework Statement A 0.75-m rod has a uniform linear mass density of λ. A small mass m with negligible volume is attached to one end of the rod. The rod with the attached mass is placed in a container of unknown fluid and after oscillating briefly, comes to rest at its equilibrium position. At...
  21. T

    Buoyancy and Pressure Interactions in Fluids

    Hi there, I was just wondering if I'm thinking about buoyancy in the correct way. I understand that it is related to the water displaced and that water displaced would usually have pressure being pushed up on it by the water underneath. A boat that floats would be taking up the space of that...
  22. Metalbob

    B Do the Equations for Apparent Weight and Buoyant Force Contradict Each Other?

    1) My teacher says that the apparent weight of an object in water (floating,sunken,submerged etc) is equal to it's actual weight-buoyant force acting on it. That is, wt (ap)=wt (ac)- F(b) Where wt (ap) = apparent weight, weight (ac)= actual weight. And f (b) = buoyant force 2) But..., if an...
  23. farolero

    B Floating 0.5 Density Wood Beam: Potential Energy Explained

    theres one beam of wood of density 0.5 floating on water of density one the beam is vertical and i assume it will go to horizontality this force that moved the wood beam implies a work has been done and hence potential energy has been spent but if the beam has density 0.5 it means it has the...
  24. huffy

    Archemides principle/ Center of buoyancy

    Homework Statement One way of moving a large undersea rock or mooring is to fasten a closed, empty oil drum to the rock while at low tide. As the tide comes in the drum is drawn down into the water increasing the buoyant foce acting on the system of the rock and drum. Suppose a cylindrical drum...
  25. P

    Fluid Statics: Calculate Moment on Rectangular Gate Hinged on Upper Edge

    Homework Statement The rectangular gate shown in section is 3 m long (perpendicular to the paper) and is hinged about its upper edge B. The gate divides a channel leading to a fresh-water lake on the left and a salt-water tidal basin on the right. Calculate the moment, M, on the shaft of the...
  26. A

    Fluid Mechanics and Archimedes Principle

    Homework Statement [/B] A rectangular object has a width of 40 meters, height of 15 meters, and length of 2 meters. It floats consistently when 3 meters of its height is below the surface of the water. 1. Find the volume of the displaced water. 2. How much is the buoyant force on the object...
  27. J

    B What factors affect the rate of sinking objects in water?

    Hi All, I have a problem (with 3 separate instances) to which I believe I have the answers, but would like check with those more knowledgeable than myself. They revolve around 3 blocks sinking through water and which falls quicker. I am ignoring friction. Instance 1: All blocks are exactly the...
  28. Ravi Singh choudhary

    What will happen to the water level of the swimming pool?

    if the person sitting in the boat throws a pebble to the swimming pool. Pebble was initially contained inside the boat and of course it has higher density than water.
  29. honlin

    Exploring Buoyancy & Balance Scales

    Homework Statement A beaker is filled with water and its weight is measured by a balance scale. The reading is recorded as R1. 1. A ping pong ball is now submerged in the water without touching the wall and the bottom of the beaker. What is the reading, R2 of the balance scale? 2. A steel...
  30. F

    Hot Air Balloon Descent: Does it Keep Accelerating Until Impact?

    If a hot air balloon cools enough to start descending, does it keep accelerating until it hits the ground? Assume that the air inside does not cool off anymore, and pretend that the air pressure stays the same at all altitudes. I tried testing it by dropping a coin into a pool. It didn't seem...
  31. S

    MHB Combined Buoyancy and Dynamics of Moving Mechanical Systems

    Hi All, So glad to have come across this amazing site and resource. I am a mature student completing an engineering degree with the Open University and I am after some guidance and help with creating a way to plot forces from a moving mechanical system. The images on the attached drawing are...
  32. J

    A Can Buoyancy Create Free Energy?

    Hello, I've search for a while on these threads, and its difficult to find the answers that I'm looking for. I know perpetual energy machines are banned from topic, but closely related is the idea of free energy. Is free energy (or close to it) allowed to be a topic of conversation? Why not if...
  33. J

    Exploring Buoyancy: How Ball Moves in Water, Oil and Moon Gravity

    Homework Statement 1a)How does a ball floating 50% in water move when a LARGE amount of oil is added? 1b) if something denser than water were added, how would the ball move? 1c) if the exp. was done on the moon with different gravity and no atmosphere, how would the ball move?Homework...
  34. J

    Oil & Water Problem: Ball Float 50% in Water - Why Does It Rise?

    How does a ball floating 50% in water move when a large amount of oil is added, and why? MY Solution: I think that the ball rises because when a large amount of oil is added, the oil sinks to the bottom causing the water to be pushed up, increasing the buoyant force which causes the ball to...
  35. L

    Ship draft (draught) word problem buoyancy

    Homework Statement ship arrives from the Atlantic to the Baltic sea. How much does the draft of the ship deepen due to the saltyness of the water... density of atlantic water = 1027kg/m^3 density of baltic water = 1005kg/m^3 at these depths the crosssectional area of the ship can be assumed...
  36. JulienB

    Buoyancy correction in a Kater's pendulum

    Homework Statement Hi everybody! While preparing my next experiment (Kater's pendulum), I was given for homework to derive an equation to correct the buoyancy when calculating ##g##. I am given the result: ##g_c = (\frac{2 \pi}{T(\varphi_0)})^2 l_r (1 + \frac{\varphi_0^2}{8} +...
  37. S

    Terminal Velocity of a Cylinder Freefalling Through a Fluid

    Hello :) I am an engineer and I am trying to analyse a system which basically contains a cylindrical body free-falling through a body of static water beginning with zero velocity. I am ultimately trying to find what the velocity of the object would be at a depth of 20m. In order to do this I...
  38. R

    Can drag force and lift force be in the same direction here:

    In the attached picture, can I say that there is a lift force in the Y-direction, and a drag force too in the same Y-direction? FL proportional to V_fx2 ? FD proportional to V_py2 ? Is this equation of motion for the Y-direction correct here: ma = − mg − FD + V(rho)g + FL The lift force is...
  39. physea

    I Does buoyancy depend on shape and volume?

    If buoyancy is due to the pressure differential as we go deeper in a liquid, then that pressure differential should depend on the vertical dimension of the immersed object. Eg. if we have a long cylinder vertically placed, the pressure differential between its top surface and its bottom surface...
  40. Behrouz

    How does the neutral pressure inside a balloon affect its lifting force?

    Hello everyone, Following Buoyancy formula, how much helium is required to help someone with 80 kg weight against gravity? While the Buoyancy depends on volume, what happens if we compress helium? Thank you in advance. Regards, Behrouz
  41. C

    Finding tension in a string from a suspended object

    Homework Statement A 0.02 m x 0.01 x 0.03 block of copper (density = 8.8 g/cm3) is suspended submerged in milk (density = 1.03 g.cm3) by a string. How much tension is in the string? Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution My initial thought for an equation was: T+Fb(buoyancy)-mg=0 T+...
  42. F

    Center of Buoyancy: Finding the Answer

    Homework Statement the buoyancy force i found id 0.751(1000)(9.81)(0.5x0.55x0.96) = 1945N , i also found that the center of gravity of submerged portion is (48/3 , 55/ 30 = (16 , 18.3) , how to find the center of buoyancy ? is the cnter of buoyancy acted half of the submerged portion , which is...
  43. vinamas

    What is the spring's length and constant in Hooke's law with buoyancy force?

    Homework Statement A ball with a mass of 250 g and a volume of 126 cm^3 is hung vertically to a spring the springs length becomes 0.690 m.Then the ball is slowly submerged in water with a density of 1000 kg /m^3 then the spring's length becomes 0.620 m. Find Buoyancy force of the water on...
  44. W

    Center of gravity vs center of buoyancy

    Homework Statement why the floating body still stable when G ( center of gravity ) is above the B ( center of buoyancy)? Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution in my opinion , the statement is worng , because when G is above B , G has the tendency to move downward , causing the object to...
  45. G

    "Build the best boat" with given area

    Hi. Given the area, what is the shape of an infinitely thin surface that can carry maximal load on water, i.e. has the best buoyancy just before water gets in? Is it the hemisphere?
  46. D

    Calculating Volume Using Buoyancy: A Homework Help Guide

    Twenty per cent (20%) of a rubber ball is floating above the surface of a pool of water. If water has a density of 1000 kg/m^3 and the ball has a mass of 3 kilograms, what is the volume of the ball?
  47. G

    Neutral Buoyancy: How Does it Affect Subs?

    I am curious about what it means to be neutral buoyant. If a submarine took in enough water so that it sinks down say 20 metres below the surface and stays floating at that level -- it is considered to be neutrally buoyant down at 20 meters below. If a force pulled the sub back up to 5 meters...
  48. vincekillics

    Optimizing ROV sinking velocity using buoyancy and resistive force

    Homework Statement A small spherical under water ROV (remotely operated vehicle) has a radius of 0.5m and a mass of 450kg. It sinks or rises in the ocean by taking water on board or pumping it back out again. How much water must it take on board to sink at a constant velocity of 1.2m/s. The...
  49. A

    How Thick Should the Concrete Foundation Be to Counteract Buoyancy Underwater?

    Hello, I have a question about buoyancy of concrete in water. If a submersible pump station is placed under water, and it has under it a concrete foundation to hold it in equilibrium. How can someone calculate the minimum weight of the concrete foundation? The pump station has a diameter: 1.6...
  50. V

    Does density affect the buoyancy of submerged objects?

    Homework Statement We fully submerge an irregular 3 kg lump of material in a certain fluid. The fluid that would have been in the space now occupied by the lump has a mass of 2 kg. a) When we release the lump, does it move upward, downward, or remain in place? b) If we next fully submerge it in...
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