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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!hao!hull
From: hull@hao.UUCP (Howard Hull)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Floating a battleship in a gallon of water: HOW.
Message-ID: <1297@hao.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 9-Dec-84 17:24:46 EST
Article-I.D.: hao.1297
Posted: Sun Dec  9 17:24:46 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Dec-84 03:21:30 EST
References: <27@daisy.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: High Altitude Obs./NCAR, Boulder CO
Lines: 23

> How is it that the water can hold up a ship which weighs
> more than the water?                                             -dbell-
As I stated earlier, it probably can't.  However if you are willing to
warp your definition of which water molecules are "holding up the ship"
and if you will also allow me a little poetic license, lookie here:

                                   ||           
                                  /||\          
 50,000 tons of water here ------------------ 50,000 tons of water here
 |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|  100,000 tons  |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
 |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\                /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
 |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/\~~\              /~~/\~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
 ----------------------/  \~~\    SHIP    /~~/  \---------------------
                           \~~\          /~~/
                            \~~\        /~~/
                             \~~\      /~~/
                              \~~\    /~~/
                               \~~\--/~~/
                                \~~~~~~/<-- 8 pounds of water in trough.
                                 \~~~~/
                                  \--/
 								Howard Hull
        {ucbvax!hplabs | allegra!nbires | harpo!seismo } !hao!hull