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nomadicus · 2003-09-05, 22:03

xilman,

I know this is a tangent, but I am curious about the artic ice (I'm ignoring the anartic).

If the north pole ice mass melted (i.e., the ice without land underneath it, the land part is obvious), the rise in sea level would be, not quite, but close to none (what's that fancy term I just learned from you . . . latent heat fusion of ice)? Do I have the concept correct?

Fusion_power · 2003-09-06, 06:45

I'll toss in a bit of math and hope I got it right. Assumptions: the anchor weighs 60 lbs which is the approximate weight of 1 cubic foot of water. The metal in the anchor is 8 times the density of water.

Under those conditions, 1 cubic foot of water is 1728 cubic inches. The anchor would take up 1/8 of that volume or 216 cubic inches. The anchor is therefore 6 inches by 6 inches by 6 inches.

When the anchor is in the boat, it pushes the boat down to the point it has displaced exactly its own weight of water i.e. 60 lbs. or 1 cubic foot. When you toss the anchor into the water it pushes aside only its own volume of water which is 1/8 of a cubic foot. Please note that this is true only if the anchor rests on the bottom of the lake. If the rope is not long enough, guess what, the boat is being pulled down the same as it was when the anchor was inside the boat.

2003-09-05, 22:03	#12
nomadicus Jan 2003 North Carolina 2·3·41 Posts	xilman, I know this is a tangent, but I am curious about the artic ice (I'm ignoring the anartic). If the north pole ice mass melted (i.e., the ice without land underneath it, the land part is obvious), the rise in sea level would be, not quite, but close to none (what's that fancy term I just learned from you . . . latent heat fusion of ice)? Do I have the concept correct?

2003-09-06, 06:45	#13
Fusion_power Aug 2003 Snicker, AL 7×137 Posts	I'll toss in a bit of math and hope I got it right. Assumptions: the anchor weighs 60 lbs which is the approximate weight of 1 cubic foot of water. The metal in the anchor is 8 times the density of water. Under those conditions, 1 cubic foot of water is 1728 cubic inches. The anchor would take up 1/8 of that volume or 216 cubic inches. The anchor is therefore 6 inches by 6 inches by 6 inches. When the anchor is in the boat, it pushes the boat down to the point it has displaced exactly its own weight of water i.e. 60 lbs. or 1 cubic foot. When you toss the anchor into the water it pushes aside only its own volume of water which is 1/8 of a cubic foot. Please note that this is true only if the anchor rests on the bottom of the lake. If the rope is not long enough, guess what, the boat is being pulled down the same as it was when the anchor was inside the boat.