How much does metal weigh under water?

Answer 1

Metal weighs less under water than out of it. This is because water is much more dense than air, and anything put in water will feel the effects of the water. The affect appears as what is called buoyancy, which is a force. When we think of metals, we generally think of them as being at least a little bit heavy. Most times that we put a piece of metal in water, it sinks, so let's look at this as the nature of the question. When a piece of metal sinks, it displaces a volume of water equal to its own volume. The metal, which had a certain weight in air, will now weigh less. Its weight in water will equal its weight in air less the weight of the volume of water that it displaced when sinking. Different metals have different densities, and will (of course) have different weights for a comparable volume other metals. [This is a general answer. It ignores trying to sink metal into solid water, and it also overlooks the chemistry of some metals. Some metals, like those in groups 1 and 2 of the Periodic Table, will react with water. No tricks here; nothing up the sleeves.]