Archimedes' principle was postulated by the Greek physicist and mathematician Archimedes of Syracuse.
Archimedes' principle is the name by which a postulate made by the Greek mathematician and physicist Archimedes of Syracuse ( 287 BC – 212 BC ) is known. This scientist pointed out that a body partially or totally submerged in a liquid at rest registers a vertical upward thrust that is identical to the weight of the volume of liquid displaced by the body.
That thrust is a force known as hydrostatic thrust or Archimedean thrust . Its measurement is made in newtons , a unit of the international system.
What is Archimedes' principle?
According to Archimedes' principle, the hydrostatic thrust is applied at the center of gravity of the body and depends on both the gravity and the density of the liquid and the volume of the body.
Archimedes' principle, in short, states that a body that is immersed in a fluid experiences a certain thrust (the hydrostatic thrust, in a vertical direction) that is equal to the weight that is dislodged from the fluid. This explains why certain objects float in water and others do not, for example.
When an object sinks, its weight is greater than the weight of the displaced fluid. On the other hand, if the weight of the body is equal to or less than the weight of the liquid displaced, the element in question floats. It all depends on the conditions of the buoyant force, which if sufficient can cause the object to rise to the surface (float). It should be noted that the volume of the body is identical to the volume of the water that is displaced.
Archimedes' principle indicates that a body totally or partially submerged in a liquid at rest registers a vertical upward thrust that is equal to the weight of the volume of the liquid moving through the body.
From everyday life to science
The explanation is not extremely complex, particularly because we have all observed at least once the behavior of a body when it is submerged in water. For those who have had the opportunity to swim in the sea or in the river, or even in a pool, this phenomenon can be seen very often; In the domestic sphere, we have examples of both our body in the bathtub and the different utensils we wash in the kitchen, if we fill the sink with water and leave them submerged for a while before rinsing them.
But going from practice, from the description of Archimedes' principle that many of us can observe in such everyday examples as a day at the beach or cleaning the kitchen, to scientific formulation entails an increase in complexity that requires more attention from us. The formula for Archimedes' principle is as follows: E = Pe V = pf g V ; If you want to use it for comparison with the cessation of the object, use E = -Pe V = -pf g V .
Let's see the reference of the variables : the first is E , the thrust; then we have Pe , the specific weight of the liquid; pf is the density; g represents the acceleration of gravity; V , finally, is the volume of the fluid that is displaced.
The person responsible for the postulation of Archimedes' principle
Regarding Archimedes , we must point out that science was always something everyday for him, since he grew up in an environment where other people had these same interests; His father, without going any further, was an astronomer. Since childhood, Archimedes showed an excellent predisposition to learn, and in fact his passion for knowledge prompted him to travel to Alexandria to pursue his studies .
It was precisely there that he became friends with Eratosthenes of Cyrene , and together they carried out the measurement of the circumference of the Earth. It is believed that his taste for astronomy arose or intensified from this teacher-student relationship. When he returned to his hometown, he began to dedicate himself to mathematics, geometry, mechanics, optics and physics , among other disciplines.