Buoyancy is a force exerted by a liquid, gas or other fluid that opposes an object's weight. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the column than at the top. This difference in pressure results in a net force that tends to accelerate an object upwards. The magnitude of that force is proportional to the difference in the pressure between the top and the bottom of the column, and is also equivalent to the weight of the fluid that would otherwise occupy the column. For this reason, an object whose density is greater than that of the fluid in which it is submerged tends to sink. If the object is either less dense than the liquid or is shaped appropriately (as in a boat), the force can keep the object afloat Archimede's principle specifically applies to this: an object floats on a fluid if its density is less than that of the fluid. Which is the reason why rafts though small in comparison to the load it can carry is in inflatable... so the rafters won't sink. |  |