Archimedes' principle
- noun
- /ˌɑrkɪˈmiːdiz ˈprɪnsəpəl/
- Specialized
:
principio de Arquímedes
- According to Archimedes' principle, when you step into a bathtub, the water level rises due to the volume of water you displace.
Examples
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Archimedes' principle explains why a boat floats in water by stating that it is pushed up by a force equal to the weight of the water it displaces.
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The hydrostatic weighing technique measures water displacement and is based on an application of Archimedes' principle, whereas the Bod Pod measures air displacement and is based on an application of Boyle's law.
Academic text (2006) -
Understanding Archimedes' principle is crucial for engineers designing ships, as it helps them calculate buoyancy.
Synonyms
A rule saying an object in water feels lighter by the weight of the water it pushes away
The amount of liquid pushed aside equals the volume of an object under the liquid
Surface Forms
Morphology
Archimedes' + principle
The structure (proper name + 'principle') transparently signals a law or rule associated with Archimedes, so a learner who knows 'principle' can infer it is a scientific law named after a person. However, the specific content (buoyancy and displaced fluid weight) cannot be derived from the constituents alone, so full meaning requires prior subject knowledge.
Etymology
Archimedes' principle comes from a famous story about the Greek thinker Archimedes. He noticed the water level rose when he stepped into a bath, so he realized that a thing in water pushes the water aside and the water pushes up on it, helping it to 'float', and that is why Archimedes' principle tells how much support a body gets in a liquid.
