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The Physics of Sailing
Web Project by Ben Renshaw, PHYS-104

    
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boat5
http://cslacker.com/images/view/320

     In order for any object to float in water it needs to displace enough water to equal its own weight. Therefore, maximum weight capacities of boats can be calculated by determining their volume and multiplying it by the weight of water that it will displace.


hull
    http://www.pagetoscreen.net/photographs/type/P1030431_medium.jpg

        Here is a practical, real life example of what the buoyancy force can tell us. The markings on the above hull of a cargo ship can be used to determine how much weight the ship has taken on. Each marking is associated with the total volume of water displaced by the boat. Since weight=m*g we can solve for the mass of the cargo.
       







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