Chapter 3 Flotation and stability
3.1 Equilibrium
3.1.1 Equilibrium of a Body Floating in Still Water
Archimede's Principle states that a body immersed in a fluid experiences an upthrust equal to the weight of the fluid displaced, and this is fundamental to the equilibrium of a body floating in still water.
A body floating freely in still water experiences a downward force acting on it due to gravity. If the body has a mass m, this force will be mg and is known as the weight. Since the body is in equilibrium there must be a force of the same magnitude and in the same line of action as the weight but opposing it. Otherwise the body would move. This opposing force is generated by the hydrostatic pressures which act on the body, Figure 3.1
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