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6/1/23, 10:56 PM Buoyancy - Wikipedia

Buoyancy
Buoyancy (/ˈbɔɪənsi, ˈbuːjənsi/),[1][2] 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 The forces at work in buoyancy. The
is accelerating due to a force other than gravity defining a "downward" object floats at rest because the
direction.[3] upward force of buoyancy is equal
to the downward force of gravity.
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 continua, 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.

Archimedes' principle
Archimedes' principle is named after Archimedes of Syracuse, who first
discovered this law in 212 BC.[4] For objects, floating and sunken, and in
gases as well as liquids (i.e. a fluid), Archimedes' principle may be stated
thus in terms of forces:

Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is


buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid
displaced by the object
A metallic coin (an old British pound
coin) floats in mercury due to the
—with the clarifications that for a sunken object the volume of displaced buoyancy force upon it and appears
fluid is the volume of the object, and for a floating object on a liquid, the to float higher because of the
weight of the displaced liquid is the weight of the object.[5] surface tension of the mercury.

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More tersely: buoyant force = weight of displaced fluid.

Archimedes' principle does not consider the surface tension


(capillarity) acting on the body,[6] but this additional force
modifies only the amount of fluid displaced and the spatial
distribution of the displacement, so the principle that buoyancy =
weight of displaced fluid remains valid.

The weight of the displaced fluid is directly proportional to the


The Galileo's Ball experiment, showing the
volume of the displaced fluid (if the surrounding fluid is of
different buoyancy of the same object,
uniform density). In simple terms, the principle states that the
depending on its surrounding medium. The
buoyancy force on an object is equal to the weight of the fluid
ball has certain buoyancy in water, but
displaced by the object, or the density of the fluid multiplied by
once ethanol is added (which is less dense
the submerged volume times the gravitational acceleration, g.
than water), it reduces the density of the
Thus, among completely submerged objects with equal masses,
medium, thus making the ball sink further
objects with greater volume have greater buoyancy. This is also
down (reducing its buoyancy).
known as upthrust.

Suppose a rock's weight is measured as 10 newtons when


suspended by a string in a vacuum with gravity acting upon it. Suppose that when the rock is lowered into
water, it displaces water of weight 3 newtons. The force it then exerts on the string from which it hangs would
be 10 newtons minus the 3 newtons of buoyancy force: 10  −  3 = 7 newtons. Buoyancy reduces the apparent
weight of objects that have sunk completely to the sea floor. It is generally easier to lift an object up through the
water than it is to pull it out of the water.

Assuming Archimedes' principle to be reformulated as follows,

then inserted into the quotient of weights, which has been expanded by the mutual volume

yields the formula below. The density of the immersed object relative to the density of the fluid can easily be
calculated without measuring any volumes.:

(This formula is used for example in describing the measuring principle of a dasymeter and of hydrostatic
weighing.)

Example: If you drop wood into water, buoyancy will keep it afloat.

Example: A helium balloon in a moving car. During a period of increasing speed, the air mass inside the car
moves in the direction opposite to the car's acceleration (i.e., towards the rear). The balloon is also pulled this
way. However, because the balloon is buoyant relative to the air, it ends up being pushed "out of the way", and

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will actually drift in the same direction as the car's acceleration (i.e., forward). If the car slows down, the same
balloon will begin to drift backward. For the same reason, as the car goes round a curve, the balloon will drift
towards the inside of the curve.

Forces and equilibrium


The equation to calculate the pressure inside a fluid in equilibrium is:

where f is the force density exerted by some outer field on the fluid, and σ is the Cauchy stress tensor. In this
case the stress tensor is proportional to the identity tensor:

Here δij is the Kronecker delta. Using this the above equation becomes:

Assuming the outer force field is conservative, that is it can be written as the negative gradient of some scalar
valued function:

Then:

Therefore, the shape of the open surface of a fluid equals the equipotential plane of the applied outer
conservative force field. Let the z-axis point downward. In this case the field is gravity, so Φ = −ρfgz where g is
the gravitational acceleration, ρf is the mass density of the fluid. Taking the pressure as zero at the surface,
where z is zero, the constant will be zero, so the pressure inside the fluid, when it is subject to gravity, is

So pressure increases with depth below the surface of a liquid, as z denotes the distance from the surface of the
liquid into it. Any object with a non-zero vertical depth will have different pressures on its top and bottom, with
the pressure on the bottom being greater. This difference in pressure causes the upward buoyancy force.

The buoyancy force exerted on a body can now be calculated easily, since the internal pressure of the fluid is
known. The force exerted on the body can be calculated by integrating the stress tensor over the surface of the
body which is in contact with the fluid:

The surface integral can be transformed into a volume integral with the help of the Gauss theorem:

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where V is the measure of the volume in contact with the fluid, that is the volume of the submerged part of the
body, since the fluid doesn't exert force on the part of the body which is outside of it.

The magnitude of buoyancy force may be appreciated a bit more from the following argument. Consider any
object of arbitrary shape and volume V surrounded by a liquid. The force the liquid exerts on an object within
the liquid is equal to the weight of the liquid with a volume equal to that of the object. This force is applied in a
direction opposite to gravitational force, that is of magnitude:

where ρf is the density of the fluid, Vdisp is the volume of the displaced body of liquid, and g is the gravitational
acceleration at the location in question.

If this volume of liquid is replaced by a solid body of exactly the same shape, the force the liquid exerts on it
must be exactly the same as above. In other words, the "buoyancy force" on a submerged body is directed in the
opposite direction to gravity and is equal in magnitude to

Though the above derivation of Archimedes principle is correct, a recent paper by the Brazilian physicist Fabio
M. S. Lima brings a more general approach for the evaluation of the buoyant force exerted by any fluid (even
non-homogeneous) on a body with arbitrary shape.[7] Interestingly, this method leads to the prediction that the
buoyant force exerted on a rectangular block touching the bottom of a container points downward! Indeed, this
downward buoyant force has been confirmed experimentally.[8]

The net force on the object must be zero if it is to be a situation of fluid statics such that Archimedes principle is
applicable, and is thus the sum of the buoyancy force and the object's weight

If the buoyancy of an (unrestrained and unpowered) object exceeds its weight, it tends to rise. An object whose
weight exceeds its buoyancy tends to sink. Calculation of the upwards force on a submerged object during its
accelerating period cannot be done by the Archimedes principle alone; it is necessary to consider dynamics of
an object involving buoyancy. Once it fully sinks to the floor of the fluid or rises to the surface and settles,
Archimedes principle can be applied alone. For a floating object, only the submerged volume displaces water.
For a sunken object, the entire volume displaces water, and there will be an additional force of reaction from the
solid floor.

In order for Archimedes' principle to be used alone, the object in question must be in equilibrium (the sum of
the forces on the object must be zero), therefore;

and therefore

showing that the depth to which a floating object will sink, and the volume of fluid it will displace, is
independent of the gravitational field regardless of geographic location.

(Note: If the fluid in question is seawater, it will not have the same density (ρ) at every location,
since the density depends on temperature and salinity. For this reason, a ship may display a

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Plimsoll line.)

It can be the case that forces other than just buoyancy and gravity come into play. This is the case if the object is
restrained or if the object sinks to the solid floor. An object which tends to float requires a tension restraint force
T in order to remain fully submerged. An object which tends to sink will eventually have a normal force of
constraint N exerted upon it by the solid floor. The constraint force can be tension in a spring scale measuring
its weight in the fluid, and is how apparent weight is defined.

If the object would otherwise float, the tension to restrain it fully submerged is:

When a sinking object settles on the solid floor, it experiences a normal force of:

Another possible formula for calculating buoyancy of an object is by finding the apparent weight of that
particular object in the air (calculated in Newtons), and apparent weight of that object in the water (in Newtons).
To find the force of buoyancy acting on the object when in air, using this particular information, this formula
applies:

Buoyancy force = weight of object in empty space − weight of object immersed in fluid

The final result would be measured in Newtons.

Air's density is very small compared to most solids and liquids. For this reason, the weight of an object in air is
approximately the same as its true weight in a vacuum. The buoyancy of air is neglected for most objects during
a measurement in air because the error is usually insignificant (typically less than 0.1% except for objects of
very low average density such as a balloon or light foam).

Simplified model

A simplified explanation for the integration of the pressure over the


contact area may be stated as follows:

Consider a cube immersed in a fluid with the upper surface horizontal.

The sides are identical in area, and have the same depth distribution,
therefore they also have the same pressure distribution, and consequently
the same total force resulting from hydrostatic pressure, exerted
perpendicular to the plane of the surface of each side. Pressure distribution on an
immersed cube
There are two pairs of opposing sides, therefore the resultant horizontal
forces balance in both orthogonal directions, and the resultant force is
zero.

The upward force on the cube is the pressure on the bottom surface integrated over its area. The surface is at
constant depth, so the pressure is constant. Therefore, the integral of the pressure over the area of the horizontal
bottom surface of the cube is the hydrostatic pressure at that depth multiplied by the area of the bottom surface.

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Similarly, the downward force on the cube is the pressure on the top
surface integrated over its area. The surface is at constant depth, so the
pressure is constant. Therefore, the integral of the pressure over the area
of the horizontal top surface of the cube is the hydrostatic pressure at that
depth multiplied by the area of the top surface.

As this is a cube, the top and bottom surfaces are identical in shape and
area, and the pressure difference between the top and bottom of the cube
is directly proportional to the depth difference, and the resultant force
Forces on an immersed cube
difference is exactly equal to the weight of the fluid that would occupy
the volume of the cube in its absence.

This means that the resultant upward force on the cube is equal to the
weight of the fluid that would fit into the volume of the cube, and the
downward force on the cube is its weight, in the absence of external
forces.

This analogy is valid for variations in the size of the cube.

If two cubes are placed alongside each other with a face of each in
contact, the pressures and resultant forces on the sides or parts thereof in Approximation of an arbitrary
contact are balanced and may be disregarded, as the contact surfaces are volume as a group of cubes
equal in shape, size and pressure distribution, therefore the buoyancy of
two cubes in contact is the sum of the buoyancies of each cube. This
analogy can be extended to an arbitrary number of cubes.

An object of any shape can be approximated as a group of cubes in contact with each other, and as the size of
the cube is decreased, the precision of the approximation increases. The limiting case for infinitely small cubes
is the exact equivalence.

Angled surfaces do not nullify the analogy as the resultant force can be split into orthogonal components and
each dealt with in the same way.

Static stability

A floating object is stable if it tends to restore itself to an equilibrium position after a small displacement. For
example, floating objects will generally have vertical stability, as if the object is pushed down slightly, this will
create a greater buoyancy force, which, unbalanced by the weight force, will push the object back up.

Rotational stability is of great importance to floating vessels. Given a small angular displacement, the vessel
may return to its original position (stable), move away from its original position (unstable), or remain where it is
(neutral).

Rotational stability depends on the relative lines of action of forces on an object. The upward buoyancy force on
an object acts through the center of buoyancy, being the centroid of the displaced volume of fluid. The weight
force on the object acts through its center of gravity. A buoyant object will be stable if the center of gravity is
beneath the center of buoyancy because any angular displacement will then produce a 'righting moment'.

The stability of a buoyant object at the surface is more complex, and it may remain stable even if the center of
gravity is above the center of buoyancy, provided that when disturbed from the equilibrium position, the center
of buoyancy moves further to the same side that the center of gravity moves, thus providing a positive righting

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moment. If this occurs, the floating object is said to have a positive


metacentric height. This situation is typically valid for a range of heel
angles, beyond which the center of buoyancy does not move enough to
provide a positive righting moment, and the object becomes unstable. It
is possible to shift from positive to negative or vice versa more than once
during a heeling disturbance, and many shapes are stable in more than
one position.

Fluids and objects


The atmosphere's density depends upon altitude. As an airship rises in
the atmosphere, its buoyancy decreases as the density of the surrounding
Illustration of the stability of bottom-
air decreases. In contrast, as a submarine expels water from its buoyancy heavy (left) and top-heavy (right)
tanks, it rises because its volume is constant (the volume of water it ships with respect to the positions of
displaces if it is fully submerged) while its mass is decreased. their centres of buoyancy (CB) and
gravity (CG)

Compressible objects

As a floating object rises or falls, the forces external to it change and, as all objects are compressible to some
extent or another, so does the object's volume. Buoyancy depends on volume and so an object's buoyancy
reduces if it is compressed and increases if it expands.

If an object at equilibrium has a compressibility less than that of the surrounding fluid, the object's equilibrium
is stable and it remains at rest. If, however, its compressibility is greater, its equilibrium is then unstable, and it
rises and expands on the slightest upward perturbation, or falls and compresses on the slightest downward
perturbation.

Submarines

Submarines rise and dive by filling large ballast tanks with seawater. To dive, the tanks are opened to allow air
to exhaust out the top of the tanks, while the water flows in from the bottom. Once the weight has been
balanced so the overall density of the submarine is equal to the water around it, it has neutral buoyancy and will
remain at that depth. Most military submarines operate with a slightly negative buoyancy and maintain depth by
using the "lift" of the stabilizers with forward motion.

Balloons

The height to which a balloon rises tends to be stable. As a balloon rises it tends to increase in volume with
reducing atmospheric pressure, but the balloon itself does not expand as much as the air on which it rides. The
average density of the balloon decreases less than that of the surrounding air. The weight of the displaced air is
reduced. A rising balloon stops rising when it and the displaced air are equal in weight. Similarly, a sinking
balloon tends to stop sinking.

Divers

Underwater divers are a common example of the problem of unstable buoyancy due to compressibility. The
diver typically wears an exposure suit which relies on gas-filled spaces for insulation, and may also wear a
buoyancy compensator, which is a variable volume buoyancy bag which is inflated to increase buoyancy and
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deflated to decrease buoyancy. The desired condition is usually neutral buoyancy when the diver is swimming
in mid-water, and this condition is unstable, so the diver is constantly making fine adjustments by control of
lung volume, and has to adjust the contents of the buoyancy compensator if the depth varies.

Density
If the weight of an object is less than the weight of the displaced fluid when fully
submerged, then the object has an average density that is less than the fluid and
when fully submerged will experience a buoyancy force greater than its own
weight.[9] If the fluid has a surface, such as water in a lake or the sea, the object
will float and settle at a level where it displaces the same weight of fluid as the
weight of the object. If the object is immersed in the fluid, such as a submerged
submarine or air in a balloon, it will tend to rise. If the object has exactly the
same density as the fluid, then its buoyancy equals its weight. It will remain
submerged in the fluid, but it will neither sink nor float, although a disturbance
in either direction will cause it to drift away from its position. An object with a
higher average density than the fluid will never experience more buoyancy than
weight and it will sink. A ship will float even though it may be made of steel
(which is much denser than water), because it encloses a volume of air (which is
much less dense than water), and the resulting shape has an average density less
than that of the water.

See also
Atmosphere of Earth, also known as Air – Gas layer surrounding
Earth
Archimedes paradox – Variation in pressure as a function of elevation
Buoy – Floating structure or device
Brunt–Väisälä frequency – Measure of fluid stability against vertical Density column of liquids
displacement and solids: baby oil, rubbing
alcohol (with red food
Buoyancy compensator (diving) – Equipment for controlling the
colouring), vegetable oil,
buoyancy of a diver
wax, water (with blue food
Buoyancy compensator (aviation) – equipment to regulate buoyancy colouring) and aluminium
of airships
Cartesian diver – Classic science experiment demonstrating the
Archimedes' principle and the ideal gas law
Dasymeter
Diving weighting system – Ballast carried by underwater divers and
diving equipment to counteract excess buoyancy
Fluid – Substance which continuously deforms under an applied
shear stress, including liquids and gases
Hydrostatics – Branch of fluid mechanics that studies fluids at rest
Galileo thermometer – Thermometer containing several glass vessels
of varying density
Hull (ship) – Watertight buoyant body of a ship or boat
Hydrometer – Device used to measure density of liquids
Hydrostatic weighing – Technique for measuring the density of a
living person's body
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Lighter than air – Gas used to create buoyancy in a balloon or aerostat


Naval architecture – Engineering discipline dealing with the design and construction of marine
vessels
Plimsoll line – Line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water
Pontoon – boat with multiple flotation chambers
Quicksand – Mixture of sand, silt or clay with water, which creates a liquefied soil when agitated
Salt fingering – Mixing process of warm, salty water with colder, fresher water
Submarine – Watercraft capable of independent operation underwater
Swim bladder – Gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of a fish to control its buoyancy
Thrust – Reaction force

References
1. Wells, John C. (2008), Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.), Longman,
ISBN 9781405881180
2. Roach, Peter (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.), Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521152532
3. Note: In the absence of surface tension, the mass of fluid displaced is equal to the submerged
volume multiplied by the fluid density. High repulsive surface tension will cause the body to float
higher than expected, though the same total volume will be displaced, but at a greater distance
from the object. Where there is doubt about the meaning of "volume of fluid displaced", this should
be interpreted as the overflow from a full container when the object is floated in it, or as the
volume of the object below the average level of the fluid.
4. Acott, Chris (1999). "The diving "Law-ers": A brief resume of their lives" (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20110402073203/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/5990). South Pacific Underwater
Medicine Society Journal. 29 (1). ISSN 0813-1988 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0813-1988).
OCLC 16986801 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16986801). Archived from the original on 2 April
2011. Retrieved 13 June 2009..
5. Pickover, Clifford A. (2008). Archimedes to Hawking (https://archive.org/details/archimedestohawk
00pick). Oxford University Press US. p. 41 (https://archive.org/details/archimedestohawk00pick/pa
ge/n55). ISBN 9780195336115.
6. "Floater clustering in a standing wave: Capillarity effects drive hydrophilic or hydrophobic particles
to congregate at specific points on a wave" (http://www.weizmann.ac.il/home/fnfal/papers/Natfloat.
pdf) (PDF). 23 June 2005. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20110721142904/http://www.wei
zmann.ac.il/home/fnfal/papers/Natfloat.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 21 July 2011.
7. Lima, Fábio M. S. (22 January 2012). "Using surface integrals for checking Archimedes' law of
buoyancy" (https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0143-0807/33/1/009). European Journal of
Physics. 33 (1): 101–113. arXiv:1110.5264 (https://arxiv.org/abs/1110.5264).
Bibcode:2012EJPh...33..101L (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012EJPh...33..101L).
doi:10.1088/0143-0807/33/1/009 (https://doi.org/10.1088%2F0143-0807%2F33%2F1%2F009).
S2CID 54556860 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:54556860). Retrieved 8 April 2021.
8. Lima, Fábio M. S. (11 May 2014). "A downward buoyant force experiment" (https://doi.org/10.159
0%2FS1806-11172014000200009). Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Fisica. 36 (2): 2309.
doi:10.1590/S1806-11172014000200009 (https://doi.org/10.1590%2FS1806-1117201400020000
9).

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9. Pickover, Clifford A. (2008). Archimedes to Hawking (https://archive.org/details/archimedestohawk


00pick). Oxford University Press US. p. 42 (https://archive.org/details/archimedestohawk00pick/pa
ge/n56). ISBN 9780195336115.

External links
Falling in Water (https://web.archive.org/web/20150226084120/http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/as
kasci/phy99/phy99x88.htm)
W. H. Besant (1889) Elementary Hydrostatics (https://books.google.com/books?id=yGIVAAAAYAA
J) from Google Books.
NASA's definition of buoyancy (https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/WindTunnel/Activities/buoy_A
rchimedes.html)

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