Propositions on bodies floating and sinking in water
Rules of buoyancy and equilibrium, with a sketch of a wheeled apparatus
The upper fragment sets out a short chain of propositions on hydrostatics: no body lighter than water sinks entirely unless helped by something heavier than water, and a body compounded of parts heavier than water by differing degrees can hang in equilibrium at any depth between surface and bottom. A second block gives a small column of numbers. The lower fragment carries a pen sketch of a wheeled apparatus with a vessel and a large spoked wheel, alongside the figures 22 and 15.
On this page
Laws of sinking and floating bodies
No body lighter than water will submerge itself entirely beneath the surface of that water except with the aid of something heavier than water. It is then proven that a body heavier than water by one degree, mixed with a body heavier than water by another degree, will rest precisely at any level of the water between its surface and its bottom.
Equilibrium of a body within the water column
The propositions treat water as the medium in which weight is judged: a body can be so balanced against the density of water that it neither rises to the surface nor falls to the bottom, but hangs suspended at an intermediate level.
Sketch of a wheeled apparatus
A rapid pen study shows a rectangular framed structure holding a barrel-like vessel, set beside a large spoked wheel. Numerals (22, 15) and small marks are jotted beneath the drawing.
