Why cant ppl use plastic to make ships?

Question

y is the ship made of iron n has the problem of sinking??

Answer 1

Density of plastic is very low and hence its weight. So no stability will be there as it only floats

Answer 2

Probably not durable enough, and a fire hazard.

Answer 3

Most plastic tends to respond to torque more easily than steel and so is more likely to lose its structural integrity (to rip apart), and to sink. Fiberglass is plastic resins mixed with glass fibers for additional strength. Fiberglass has been in common use since the '50's in the marine industry. It isn't strong enough to make big ships. But small boats are often made of FRP (fibreglass reinforced plastic)

Answer 4

It isn't the material that the ship is made of that makes it vulnerable to sinking, it's the structural integrity (or lack of).

Some smaller ships are made of plastic, but most plastic tends to respond to torque (twisting) more easily than steel and so is more likely to lose its structural integrity (to rip apart), and to sink.

Answer 5

People do use plastic to make ships, it's called fiberglass.  Fiberglass is plastic resins mixed with glass fibers for additional strength.  Fiberglass has been in common use since the '50's in the marine industry.

While plastic is light and won't sink, there is the problem of structural rigidity.  Plastics simply can't handle the stresses of ocean travel when combined with the hundreds of thousands of tons of freight they would be carrying.  Steel is far more durable than fiberglass, as well.  Floating doesn't make shippers happy when their freight is soaked with seawater or sank to the bottom...

You won't see many marine vessels larger than 75 feet that are made of fiberglass.

Answer 6

Because of the tremendous pressure the water places on the hull. A ship doesn't float, it displaces water. Even a plastic boat would sink if it leaked and started filling up with water.

Answer 7

It isn't strong enough to make big ships.  But small boats are often made of FRP (fibreglass reinforced plastic)

Answer 8

Styrofoam cruse ships?  Iron And steel because it is displacement that keeps ships afloat. Air on the inside and water on the outside.