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There are ballast tanks in a submarine. If the submarine weighs 150,000 pounds, it will push aside, or displace, 18,750 gallons of water. (We're using an even 8 pounds per gallon here.) If the submarine's volume is actually 25,000 gallons, part of the submarine will be out of the water--what we call floating.

To make the submarine submerge, you must increase its weight to 200,000 pounds--the same as 25,000 gallons of water. This is done by pumping water into tanks in the front and back of the submarine. Once they do this, the whole submarine will be underwater and they can control its depth with planes. They can also "trim" the sub by putting more water in one tank than in the other. Submarines change their weight distribution all the time. If you put a case of canned peaches in the front of the boat when you were provisioning it for the mission, and you fed the peaches to the crew, you've got to compensate for the loss of that case of fruit by adding a little more water to the forward ballast tank. That's how sensitive these things are--you have to compensate for the food you eat to make them ride right. (And if you actually have to shoot at anyone you have to compensate for the torpedos or Tomahawk Missiles you fired.)

Increasing the weight of a submarine beyond its displacement will make it sink to the bottom. You might want to do that if you were going to park the boat at the entrance to a harbor and wait for a ship to come by so you could block the channel by sinking it, but if you did it all the time you'd have to waste lots of power keeping the boat off the bottom.

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Q: How does a submarine submerge and then float on water?
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How do submarines float and sink in water?

a submarine has a water tank. when the tank is filled then submarine sink in the water. and when the tank is empty then submarine float in water. use the formula density= mass / volume as mass increases(when the tank is full of water), the density of the submarine increases and it submerge into the water and vice versa.


Why does the submarine float and submerge in water?

Submarines must be able to float to load and offload crew and cargo and to have repairs and maintenance. They are designed to submerge either for underwater exploration or to pass undetected by ships at the surface and planes and satellites above.


When water fills a submarine's flotation tanks the overall density of the submarine will...?

The density will rise and submerge the submarine.


What is a good sentence using submerge in it?

Submerge those dishes in the soapy water, please. I was watching the submarine slowly submerge.


What is the purpose of the submarine to submerge into the water?

In war a submarine can hide under the water and attack without being seen.


What is a sentence using submerged in it?

Submerge those dishes in the soapy water, please. I was watching the submarine slowly submerge.


When water fills a submarines flotations tanks the overall density of the submarine?

The density will rise and submerge the submarine.


How does a submarine float?

It floats and sink by changing its buoyancy. The primary method of controling buoyancy is the ballast tanks. The air is let out of them and is displaced by water. This gives the submarine negative buoyancy, which will get the submarine to submerge. By blowing or pumping air into those ballast tanks, the submarine becomes buoyant and rises to the surface.


Does a submarine float?

It floats and sink by changing its buoyancy. The primary method of controling buoyancy is the ballast tanks. The air is let out of them and is displaced by water. This gives the submarine negative buoyancy, which will get the submarine to submerge. By blowing or pumping air into those ballast tanks, the submarine becomes buoyant and rises to the surface.


What part of speech is the word submerge?

submerge is a verb. example: the submarine is about to submerge


Why does a submarine can sink and float in water?

A submarine can sink and float in water because it has ballast tanks that can be filled with water to make it sink and with air to make it float. By adjusting the amount of water and air in the ballast tanks, the submarine can control its buoyancy and stay submerged at a desired depth or rise back to the surface.


Why can a submarine sink and float in sea water?

A submarine has "ballast tanks" which can be filled with water to make the vessel heavier (total density greater) than water and dive to required depth. These ballast tanks can also be filled with air (compressed air is kept on board for this) to make the vessel lighter and rise to the surface