Let's step back a little bit from the Archimedes' principle, and consider the more basic Parscal's principle: The pressure in fluid at depth h is rho*g*h. www.ddhw.com Now, consider a submerged cubic of edge-length L(with top and bottom parallel to ground). The bouyancy on the cubic is simply (P2-P1)*L*L, where P2 and P1 are respectively the pressures on bottom and top of the cubic. In still water, P2-P1 = rho*g*L, so the boyancy is rho*g*V, and hence the Archimedes' principle. www.ddhw.com Now, consider the case with bubbles. For simplicity, let's ignore the mass of these bubbles. Let's assume we have a large cycindrical tank of height h, with water fill up to the middle of the height of the tank. Now consider water bubles are evenly and continously let off from the bottom of the tank. Now, the surface of the water will rise from height h/2 to H. But since we ignore the mass (and also weight and the force needed for its accelerating upward movment) of the bubbles, the pressure on the bottom of the tank is not changed. www.ddhw.com Now, consider the difference in the pressure on the top and bottom of the submerged cubic. It is used to be L/(h/2)) of the pressure at the bottom of the tank, now, it is L/H of the pressure at the bottom of the tank. As a result, P2-P1 is now (h/2)/H of its old value, and the buoyancy on the cubic is also only (h/2)/H of the old value. www.ddhw.com
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