ELIF: Why does and anvil float in mercury?
In: Physics
The Archimedes principle tells us that the buoyant force is equal to the mass of fluid displaced. So if you put an object in a fluid, and the object is less dense than the fluid, it’ll float. Because it displaces an amount of fluid equal to its volume, and the force is the volume of the object times the weight of the fluid. So most things float in mercury because mercury is really dense.
Latest Answers