How is a large ship made of steel able to float on water and not sink?

Question

How is a large ship made of steel able to float on water and not sink?

Answer 1

The amount of water that a ship displaces weighs more than the ship thus allowing the ship to sit atop the water.

Answer 2

superman holds it up

Answer 3

As previously said the ship needs to be lighter than water by volume. The ship doesn't let water in so the empty area will be full of air. The average weight of the ship needs to be less than that of water. The only reason things like steel are used in the constuction is that a hole can let water in, which will increase the average weight.

So the weight divided by the volume of the ship needs to be less than the weight divided by volume of the water it's in.

Answer 4

I was in the Navy on one of those steel things.  I never told it that steel can't float....

As for ships that are suppose to sink, i think they're called submarines, that's just plan NUTS!

LOL

Answer 5

It is due to the fact that the ship is filled with air. So the result is actually lighter than water. What keeps the ship afloat: Mass of Steel + Mass of Air) is less than Mass of the water that would otherwise be in its place. A buoyant force is keeping the ship afloat.

Take as an example a frying pan. If you place it in a sink full of water it will not sink. If you push directly down on the pan, it will not sink (unless it fills with water) - it will simply bob back up. When you push the pan down, you are trying to displace the water - to move it out of the way.

However, if you were to drill a hole in the bottom of the pan and it were to fill with water (because the air was displaced by the water) the pan would quickly become heavier and would be able to displace the water due to a greater force being exerted on the pan by gravity (the combined mass of the pan and the water in the pan is greater, therefore the force down is too).

Now, simply use the example above, but instead of picturing a pan, picture a ship.

Hope this helps!

Answer 6

It displaces water. Just like your rubber duckie in the bath tub.

Answer 7

Well, have you ever heard of archimedes principle?

If the weight of the water displaced is less than the weight of the object, the object will sink.

Otherwise the object will float, with the weight of the water displaced equal to the weight of the object.

Because a steel boat is hollow inside, its density is less than the density of the water around it. Therefore the amount of water it displaces is heavier than the weight of the object.