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Related Concept Videos

Buoyancy00:59

Buoyancy

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When an object is placed in a fluid, it either floats or sinks. All objects in a fluid experience a buoyant force. For example, a metal ball sinks, while a rubber ball floats. Similarly, a submarine can sink and float by adjusting its buoyancy.  The concept of buoyancy raises several interesting questions. For instance, where does this buoyant force come from? How much buoyant force is required to make an object sink or float? Do objects that sink get any support at all from the...
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Archimedes' Principle01:13

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Archimedes' principle states that an upward buoyant force exerted on a body that is immersed partially or entirely in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by it. To understand how much buoyant force is needed to make an object float, let us think about what happens when a submerged object is removed from a fluid. If the object were not in the fluid, the space occupied by the object would be filled by the fluid having a weight wfl. This weight is supported by the...
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In fluid mechanics, buoyancy and stability are key concepts for understanding the behavior of submerged and floating bodies. When a stationary body is fully or partially submerged in a fluid, the fluid exerts a force on the body known as the buoyant force. This force acts vertically upward through a point called the center of buoyancy, which is the center of the displaced fluid volume. According to Archimedes' principle, the magnitude of the buoyant force is equal to the weight of the fluid...
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The origin of Earth's ocean tides has been a subject of continuous investigation for over 2000 years. However, the work of Newton is considered to be the beginning of the proper understanding of the phenomenon. Ocean tides are the result of gravitational tidal forces. These same tidal forces are present in any astronomical body; they are responsible for the internal heat that creates the volcanic activity on Io, one of Jupiter's moons, and the breakup of stars that get too close to...
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Hydrostatic Pressure Force on a Plane Surface01:04

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When a plane surface is submerged in a fluid, hydrostatic forces develop on the surface due to the fluid's pressure. For horizontal surfaces, the pressure exerted by the fluid is uniform because the depth remains constant. The resultant force is determined by the pressure at the given depth multiplied by the area of the surface, and it acts through the centroid of the surface. For vertical surfaces, the pressure varies with depth, increasing as the distance from the fluid's free surface...
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Surface Tension of Fluid01:22

Surface Tension of Fluid

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Surface tension is a fundamental property of fluids, occurring at the boundary between a liquid and a gas or between two immiscible liquids. This phenomenon arises from the cohesive forces between molecules at the fluid's surface, creating an effect similar to a stretched elastic membrane. Inside each fluid, molecules are equally attracted in all directions by neighboring molecules, but surface molecules experience a net inward force, resulting in surface tension.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 15, 2025

Measurements of Waves in a Wind-wave Tank Under Steady and Time-varying Wind Forcing
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Does rainfall create buoyant forcing at the ocean surface?

Dipanjan Chaudhuri1, Eric A D'Asaro2,3

  • 1Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, 1013 NE 40th Street, Seattle, 98105-6698, WA, USA. dipadadachaudhuri@gmail.com.

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|July 15, 2025
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Rainfall’s impact on ocean buoyancy is complex. Light rain destabilizes the ocean, while heavy rain stabilizes it, challenging assumptions about precipitation effects on ocean surface layers.

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Area of Science:

  • Oceanography
  • Atmospheric Science
  • Climate Science

Background:

  • Rainfall influences upper ocean buoyancy through freshwater flux and cooling effects.
  • Ocean surface stability is critical for marine ecosystems and climate regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify net buoyancy fluxes in the equatorial oceans under various rainfall conditions.
  • To investigate the diurnal variability of buoyancy fluxes associated with rainfall.

Main Methods:

  • In situ measurements of buoyancy fluxes using twenty-two moored buoys.
  • Categorization of data based on rainfall intensity (light vs. heavy) and time of day (day vs. night).

Main Results:

  • Light rain (0.2-4 mm/hr) generally destabilizes the ocean surface.
  • Heavy rain (>4 mm/hr) tends to stabilize the ocean surface.
  • Nighttime rain is twice as likely to cause ocean instability compared to daytime rain, irrespective of intensity.

Conclusions:

  • Rainfall's effect on ocean buoyancy is not uniformly stabilizing.
  • Diurnal variations in rainfall significantly influence ocean surface stability.
  • Findings challenge the conventional view of precipitation as solely a stabilizing force on the ocean.