Water, as you know, comprises nearly 70% of the total surface area of the Earth,

which makes the oceans extremely important modes of travel. It would have been
much easier for us if we could simply traverse the lengths of the seas and oceans
without the help of boats, ships or any other kind of air transport. This is
especially difficult because, as you know, we cant stand upright on water without
eventually sinking. However, the reason we sink whenever we try to walk on the
surface is because the water is just not dense enough. That being said, there is an
easy way that we can make the water dense enough. In order to understand how
we would go about doing this, you first need to know the reason why we sink.
Why do we sink?
This might seem quite obvious if you believe that humans are simply too heavy to
stand water, but Im afraid its a little bit more complicated. The principle that
determines whether a body can sink or not is called Archimedes Principle. It
states that, for a body to float, it needs to displace the exact same amount of
water with a weight equal to the total weight of the floating body. The weight of
the displaced water exerts a force on the body, causing it to float. This force is
called buoyant force and we can change its value by changing certain
characteristics of water.

The condition for floating is quite simple: the buoyant force should be greater

than or equal to the weight of

the body. If the
value of buoyant force is large enough, then a body floats; otherwise, it sinks.
The only thing we need to worry about is how we can increase this buoyant
force.

Ships at Sea
Because water itself is relatively dense, a high-volume, low-density object is likely
to displace a quantity of water more denseand heavierthan the object itself.
By contrast, a steel ball dropped into the water will sink straight to the bottom,
because it is a low-volume, high-density object that outweighs the water it
displaced.
This brings back the earlier question: how can a ship made out of steel, with a
density of 487 lb/ft 3 (77,363 N/m 3 ), float on a salt-water ocean with an average
density of only about one-eighth that amount? The answer lies in the design of
the ship's hull. If the ship were flat like a raft, or if all the steel in it were
compressed into a ball, it would indeed sink. Instead, however, the hollow hull
displaces a volume of water heavier than the ship's own weight: once again,
volume has been maximized, and density minimized.
For a ship to be seaworthy, it must maintain a delicate balance between buoyancy
and stability. A vessel that is too lightthat is, too much volume and too little
densitywill bob on the top of the water. Therefore, it needs to carry a certain
amount of cargo, and if not cargo, then water or some other form of ballast.
Ballast is a heavy substance that increases the weight of an object experiencing
buoyancy, and thereby improves its stability.
Ideally, the ship's center of gravity should be vertically aligned with its center of
buoyancy. The center of gravity is the geometric center of the ship's weightthe
point at which weight above is equal to weight below, weight fore is equal to
weight aft, and starboard (right-side) weight is equal to weight on the port (left)
side. The center of buoyancy is the geometric center of its submerged volume,
and in a stable ship, it is some distance directly below center of gravity.
Displacement, or the weight of the fluid that is moved out of position when an
object is immersed, gives some idea of a ship's stability. If a ship set down in the
ocean causes 1,000 tons (8.896 10 6 N) of water to be displaced, it is said to
possess a displacement of 1,000 tons. Obviously, a high degree of displacement is
desirable. The principle of displacement helps to explain how an aircraft carrier
can remain afloat, even though it weighs many thousands of tons.