Wednesday, November 29, 2023
shipping and freight resource services
HomeEducationThe connection between Shipping and Physics

The connection between Shipping and Physics

Inspired by Georgia, (one of the readers of this blog), in this article I take you back to the REAL basics – the connection between Shipping and Physics..

I wrote earlier that the big floating thing that carries our cargo from point A to B is referred to, as a SHIP or a VESSEL and outlined the difference between these two..

Like me, I am sure many of you would have (and if you are in the shipping industry you SHOULD have) thought about how this massive thing that can carry 18,000 + TEUs float so solidly in the water whereas if you throw a small pebble in the water, it sinks so easily..

Well, I have 3 words for you – DISPLACEMENT, BUOYANCY, DENSITY..

image for archimedesThe man credited with discovering the physical law of buoyancy is Archimedes..

Science Niblets explains below how the principle named after him (Archimedes Principle) works :

“The reason that a ship floats is that it displaces a lot of water. The displaced water wants to return to it’s original location, where the ship is now, and this pushes the ship upwards. The force which pushes the ship up is called the buoyancy force.

It appears due to the Archimedes’ principle: “Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.”

That means that when an object displaces one liter of water, the object gets pushed up with the buoyancy force equal to the weight of one liter of water. The more water that is displaced, the stronger the buoyancy force is which pushes the object up.”

I also found a very interesting infographic from Bolsover Cruise Club which explains quite visually how these 3 words interact to keep a ship afloat..

connection between shipping and physics

Thanks to Georgia for forwarding below links to me..

  1. http://www.science-niblets.org/physics/why-can-heavy-steel-ships-float.html
  2. http://www.bolsovercruiseclub.com/cruise-infographics/why-do-ships-float/#.VW2wWGakd4q
  3. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pbuoy.html

In their article “Why steel giants are able to float”, Hapag Lloyd provides some new angles to the discussion like the difference in density between salt water and fresh water.. You can read it here..

If you have any educational infographics, videos, images etc that you would like to post, please let me know..

Hariesh Manaadiar
Hariesh Manaadiarhttps://www.shippingandfreightresource.com
I am Hariesh Manaadiar, the Founder of Shipping and Freight Resource.. I have been in the dynamic shipping and freight industry for over three decades and have worked in several sectors.. I share my experiences and knowledge of the industry through this blog for those looking for help in the industry.. Stay subscribed for more free useful content about shipping, freight, maritime, logistics, supply chain and trade..

17 COMMENTS

  1. Oh man, we are learning about this on high school, and this one single visual has taught me so much more in addition to the professor’s long lectures !!!

    Thanks to the author!!!!!!

  2. The connection between shipping and physics is relational. It is logical that there is a physics involved in the displacement of water through the ship. Physics is an important subject in the shipping industry. The people of merchant navy study nautical science in which physics form an important subject. The mariners in their career phase study nautical science as a part of their course.

  3. The presentation relayed is quite useful and friendly to both eye and understanding basics ; however some terms may have to be reviewed or replaced such as :

    i) the amount of water that it moves -….. should specify : when static or idle ¡ as when a vessel ” moves ” and understanding by this term that it has velocity ( vector magnitude) a following amount of water appears to fill in the original water void ” displaced ” Yes ? ; this compound effect is termed virtual displacement ; and

    ii) respectfully suggest that term ” sink” should be further elaborated on replaced by ” increases its draft “. It will sink once reserve buoyancy has disappeared

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED ARTICLES

SUBSCRIBE

Enter your email address to subscribe for free and be notified about new content on this site

Join 37.4K other subscribers

LET'S SOCIALIZE

ADVERTISEMENT

ODeX Digitalisation Survey

Most Popular

Recent Comments