• Question: Why do boats float?

    Asked by mylifeisacatalyst to Claire, Kate, Matt, Rob, Sam on 21 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Matthew Pankhurst

      Matthew Pankhurst answered on 21 Jun 2013:

      Boats float because they move water out of the way (called displacement)- and the water wants to be where it was, so it squeezes at the sides of the boat and this supports it. It doesn’t sink because it is lighter than water (on average). If you put a ball of metal into water it would sink (like a coin maybe), but it you shaped that coin into a metal tray that moved a lot of water out of the way then it would float! Ships are basically big metal boxes – if they were metal all the way through they would sink! Same thing with wooden boats, although the wood itseld often floats anyway – because it has air trapped inside it.

    • Photo: Claire Lee

      Claire Lee answered on 21 Jun 2013:

      It’s called the Archimedes principle, named after that guy who ran naked down the street shouting “Eureka!” when he realised it 🙂

      You may like this: http://imgur.com/YWWMmBl
      (an actual lab report someone submitted)

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