buoyancy

Also known as upthrust

thumb|The forces at work in buoyancy. The object floats at rest because the upward force of buoyancy is equal to the downward force of gravity.

AI overview

Buoyancy is an upward force that acts on objects in water or other fluids, and it matters because when this force equals the downward pull of gravity, an object can float at rest instead of sinking. Understanding buoyancy is important for explaining why some things float while others sink, and how ships and submarines are designed to stay afloat.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Image: Buoyancy.svg

Show 1 more fact

Commons category: Buoyancy

Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~22 min read

Article

14 sections

Contents

Archimedes' principle
Applications
Forces and equilibrium
Simplified model
Static stability
States of buoyancy
Compressible objects
Submarines
Balloons
Divers
Density
See also
References
External links

thumb|The forces at work in buoyancy. The object floats at rest because the upward force of buoyancy is equal to the downward force of gravity.

Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is the force exerted by a fluid opposing the weight of a partially or fully immersed object (which may also be a parcel of fluid). 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.