How does Archimedes principle helps in designing ships and submarines?
Answers
Archimedes’ principle is also used in designing ships and submarines.
The floating of a big ship is based on the Archimedes' principle. An iron nail sinks because it has more weight than the weight of the water it displaces. In other words, the density of the iron nail is greater than the density of water. In case of a ship, a large portion of it is hollow inside. This reduces the apparent density of the ship to a value less than the density of water. The weight of the water displaced by the ship is much more than its own weight. This makes the ship float on water.
A submarine can dive into the water or rise to the surface as needed. The most important compartments of a submarine that help in its floatation are the ballast tank, and the compressed air tank. To dive, the ballast tanks are filled with water so that the average density of the submarine becomes greater than the density of sea water, and the submarine dives. To rise, the water from the ballast tanks is forced out into the sea by allowing air from the compressed air tank to enter the ballast tank. As a result, the average density of the submarine decreases, and the submarine rises.