Which displaces more water, a boat with the anchor onboard or in the water?
Not that this is a big effect in the ocean, but still, it’s a nice demo.
A body submerges into the water until it displaces an amount of water that is equal to its own weight. So if you have a ship with an anchor onboard, and then you drop the anchor into the water. Will that affect the water level? And if so, how?
How much water is displaced by a boat carrying the anchor onboard vs a boat and the anchor in the water? It’s the same amount of water in the jars and the same coins in both pictures…
I like this demonstration because it is so easy and also because so few people get it right when you ask them about it (which is actually a bit shocking).
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“Isostasy” of ships | Adventures in Oceanography and Teaching says:
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