Re: [Phys-l] buoyancy on a submerged pole

[John Mallinckrodt <ajm@csupomona.edu>]

On Nov 3, 2010, at 6:36 PM, William Robertson wrote:

> Just so I'm clear, you're not saying that the density of the box is  
> irrelevant in terms of what the bottom of the aquarium under the box  
> does, right?

No.  How MUCH the bottom deflects downward will obviously depend on details including the average density and volume of the box and how much water is in the tank.  That is simply to say, it will depend on how much weight the bottom has to support.

What I'm saying is that the box obviously pushes down on the bottom of the aquarium.

> On Nov 3, 2010, at 7:28 PM, John Mallinckrodt wrote:
>
> > ... IF there is no seepage under the bottom of the box, then the bottom of the aquarium is the ONLY thing that is even CAPABLE of exerting an upward force on the box AND, since the box is at rest, it MUST.
> >
> > What part of that isn't clear?