0
Mass per surface area. A needle has a very small surface area thereby it can't displace its mass in water very well, while a ship has a very large surface area allowing it to push on a large volume of water to support its mass. A needle is like a sharp knife and a ship is like a very dull knife. By the way if you are very careful while placing you can get a needle to float on water.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Why does a ship made of steel float while a needle sinks?
A needle is fully metal whereas a ship is hollow so it floats
What is reason that a steel ship floats while a steel needle sinks?
The displaces a sufficient amount of water to keep it afloat
Why do needle sinks in water but ship floats?
Whether something sinks when it's placed on water is determined by the amount (weight) of water that it displaces. The needle, being small in size and relatively high in mass (relative to its size), displaces very little water when it is placed on the surface. The weight of the needle will be more than the weight of the water that it displaces and the needle will sink. The ship, though many times heavier than the needle, will displace alot more water than the needle. The ship will float if the weight of the displaced water is more than the weight of the ship.
A whirlpool with centripetal motion destroyed Captain Ahab's ship?
Drown A+
A block of styrofoam floats on water while a same size block of lead lies submerged in the water The buoyant force is greatest on the?
The block of Styrofoam floats on water while a same size block of lead lies submerged in the water. The buoyant force is greatest on the lead. Compared to an empty ship, the same ship loaded with Styrofoam will float lower in the water.
Why a needle drowned in water and a ship does not?
because a ship has a wider area to spread it`s surface on and a needle does not because a ship has a wider area to spread it`s surface on and a needle does not
Why does a ship made of steel float while a needle sinks?
A needle is fully metal whereas a ship is hollow so it floats
What is reason that a steel ship floats while a steel needle sinks?
The displaces a sufficient amount of water to keep it afloat
Why do needle sinks in water but ship floats?
Whether something sinks when it's placed on water is determined by the amount (weight) of water that it displaces. The needle, being small in size and relatively high in mass (relative to its size), displaces very little water when it is placed on the surface. The weight of the needle will be more than the weight of the water that it displaces and the needle will sink. The ship, though many times heavier than the needle, will displace alot more water than the needle. The ship will float if the weight of the displaced water is more than the weight of the ship.
A steel needle sinks in h20 but a steel ship floats?
The needle is solid, it's density higher than water's. The ship is hollow, its overall density lower than water's.
If sirens sing and lure people into water do the mermaids drown the people in stead of the sirens?
No, the sirens sing to sailors who pass by islands with cliffs and either they jump ship and drown unable to reach the sirens atop the cliffs, or a sailor might navigate the ship into the cliffs to reach them thus killing everyone.
A whirlpool with centripetal motion destroyed Captain Ahab's ship?
Drown A+
Did the titanic ever new that there ship will drown?
yah after they hit the iceberg
How does the Space Needle look like?
From its name a space needle is a tower that has a space ship look on top and a needle on above it. Thus, it is called a "space needle."
Why will a ship of steel sink while a ship of air wont?
It's possible that a ship of steel will not sink as well. But if it will sink, it would be because the density of steel is greater then the density of water, while air's density is lower then water's.
What are pros and cons of being an explorer?
you get money(pro you can drown on your ship(con)
Why does a metal ship float but a metal needle sink?
According to Archimedes principle and we can note that the amount of water displaced by a needle is lesser than the amount of water moved out by the needle (that is displacement of the needle). So the needle is no longer stay on the surface of the water and sink into the water. As it sink into the water means below the water it can not be float again because of it density (mass per volume) is heavier than the density of the water. But in the case of iron ship, if the shape of the iron is just a flat and it can be sink like a needle. But making the Iron by forming a shape causing her displacement (it displaces on the water) more than weight of water she move out (immersed in) the ship can stay on the water. Yes, as we say if the displaces by ship is equal to the water that she move out is equal then the ship is afloat (at the certain draft). For the ship which design to afloat on the water until extra particular amount of cargo is loaded on the ship (dead weight ton). She can remain afloat until that amount of weight is reached (that is displaces by ship is equal or more than the displaced water. but if she has lesser amount she subject to sink.) These are the basic and other factors to be taken into account as per their structural design by NA.That is my idea but please overwrite mine if your answer is good enough.Toe Wai Win (Singapore Maritime Academy) COC 1&2Ships float because they are hollow on the inside, so the air inside keeps it floating, because air is lighter than water.Needles sink because they aren't hollow, so there is no air inside to keep it a float.Hope this helps :)We actually can get a needle to float on water if we put it in the water in such a way as to allow surface tension to keep it afloat. Setting that idea aside, a piece of steel (a needle is made of steel) will sink in water because it is more densethan water. Drop a needle in water and it will sink to the bottom. But a steel ship will float on water because of the buoyancy of the water. The ship displaces the water and will stay afloat. Let's look at the situation. If you're getting into a bath tub full of water, gravity is pulling down on the water, and also on you. Gravity continues to pull down on you as you enter the water. As you are pulled down into the water by gravity, your body has to move some of the water out of the way so that it can "get into" the water. The moving of the water out of the way is called displacement. The water level rises in the tub because you displace some water getting in. The net result of this displacement is that buoyancy takes effect. You know that when you are immersed in water, you feel "lighter" in it. This is because the water is trying to push you back out, and this the source of the force of buoyancy. Just like you in the tub, when a ship is in water, it displaces a volume of water that equals it own mass. That is, when a ship is in water, it pushes a certain volume of water out of the way. This is the vessel's displacement. The mass of this volume of water that it displaces equals the mass of the ship. Once the ship displaces a mass of water equal to its own mass, it will then not sink into the water any more. Buoyancy has taken hold. The ship is made of steel, but is "hollow" inside. The extra space inside the ship gives the ship a lower average density than the density of the water itself. The "empty" spaces inside the ship are the key to its ability to float. A solid piece of metal, like the needle, will sink if just dropped into the water. Yet the steel ship will float.This happens according to Density : Volume where the large volume off water over comes the Volume of Ship. therefore the Density of water with its Volume have greater ratio then Ship and its Volume which is why ship does not sink.Or to put it another way, the ship is designed to be buoyant; the needle is not.there is no need to put in other way the needle can also float if you can manage to put it on surface of water without any external down force... or say tension lessYes, a needle can float on the surface tension of water, if you lower it in carefully enough (for example, cradled in a fork). But the question involved the reason a needle *sinks* when a ship would float. This has nothing to do with surface tension.Let's put it this way: the needle weighs more than the water it displaces; the ship weighs less than the water it displaces. If the needle were as hollow as the ship, it would float too.It's about density, how much something weighs by volume. Things with lower density floats in liquids with higher density.The needle, although it's a tiny thing, is solid metal, so it's still heavier by volume when compared with water.The ship, despite being heavier in total, is basically a shell with lots of air in it. This air make the ship as a whole have a lower density than water, so it floats.a stone sinks in water but an iron ship floats in it.why does it happen? is it due to the different properties of iron and stone? is it due to the shape of ship or stone?Ships are hollow. Needles are solid. The air in the ship is what's holding it up.Nail is a solid body because it does not contain air whereas a ship is a large hollow body because it contains air. Density of nail is more than density of water. Anything whose density is more than that of water will sink into it. While the density of a ship is less than that of water. Hence a nail or pin sink but a ship floats on water.
