English: A density column containing some common liquids and solids. From top: baby oil, rubbing alcohol, vegetable oil, wax, water, and aluminum. Food coloring was added to rubbing alcohol and water for visibility. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: SVG version of :Image:Buoyancy.jpg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Buoyancy is the upward force that a fluid applies on an object that is less dense than itself. The buoyancy of an object in water depends on its volume (the amount of space it takes up) and its density compared to the density of the water. Objects that have large volumes and low densities have a tendency to be quite buoyant. The best example would be a ship. Ships are buoyant because the hulls of ships are usually filled with air, which is less dense than water. Buoyancy is important to several vehicles such as ships (as mentioned), boats, balloons, and airships, and it play an important part in diverse natural phenomena such as sedimentation.
According to Archimedes’ (of Syracuse) Principle, “Any object wholly or partly immersed in fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.” Which means that an immersed object is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid it actually displaces.
Buoyancy is also a diver’s tendency to float while they are under water. In scuba diving, divers don’t only use the term buoyancy to describe it as ‘an objects ability to float in water’ but they also have: Positive buoyancy (When diver floats upwards in the water or remains in floating in surface.); Negative buoyancy (When diver sinks downwards in water or remains on the bottom.); Neutral buoyancy (When a diver neither sinks nor floats, but remains suspended in the water at a single depth.)
I myself have tried scuba diving a couple of times in Batangas, and it is actually quite difficult at first. Other than having difficulty in equalization, buoyancy is also something diver’s have to remember. At first, buoyancy is hard to control, it was hard not to sink down the water. But after a while, I could control it already, I could manage not to sink down anymore. Now, I can dive without having to worry about my buoyancy.
Oxygen toxicity occurs when the lungs take in a higher than normal O 2 partial pressure, which can occur in deep scuba diving. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)