Fluid Density and You

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 11:49 in Earth & Climate

If you've ever been in the ocean in the vicinity of large breaking waves and have been unfortunate enough to get steamrolled by a wall of whitewater, you may have noticed how much more difficult it is to get back up to the surface through the whitewater compared to smooth water. Why is this? While it may be due in part to the difficulty in "gripping" the aerated water (to pull yourself to the surface you have to apply a force downward against the water such that it pushes upward on you), it also has to do with a reduction in your buoyancy, due to the lower density of the whitewater. read more

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