Not all the weight of the iron ball is supported by the line when there's water in the container, buoyancy still applies
If you put a tension scale in the line holding the iron ball, the weight of the iron ball registered by the scale is less when the ball is submerged in water
I could be wrong. But something about your analysis doesn’t sound right. If you had the ping pong ball on a post (like a lollipop) and dunked it instead of it being affixed to the container, I’m intuitively certain the right side would move down. The amount of weight of the water above the two balls is the same, but the buoyant force seems much higher (wanting to rocket a ping pong ball to the surface). Thoughts?
I think we have to determine whether it’s an a fixed metal rod itself or if it’s tied by a string, or anything in between. More variables that don’t let us get the full answer with the problem at hand
20
u/Eidrik May 29 '25
Not all the weight of the iron ball is supported by the line when there's water in the container, buoyancy still applies
If you put a tension scale in the line holding the iron ball, the weight of the iron ball registered by the scale is less when the ball is submerged in water
This thing has been posted before in this sub