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[Phys-L] Re: Buoyancy question



Hey folks... in my last post I stated that today I successfully floated
a 15.6-gram object in 10 grams of water. Doesn't that bother anyone?
It sure bothered all the scientsts here at Bluffton. They didn't
believe it until I showed them.

This means the dictionary definition of Archimedes Principle cannot be
the correct explanation of bouyancy. The standard statement of
Archimedes Principle is... "When a body is wholly or partly immersed in
a fluid, it experiences an upthrust or buoyant force equal to the weight
of fluid it displaces."

Excuse the fact I am using mass in grams instead of force in newtons.
My 15.6-gram object was floating, but could not possibly have displaced
15.6 grams of water because only 10 grams of water were present.


Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Physics and Chemistry
Bluffton University
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu