I got a question about the Freedom ship.

[tivaelydoc]

If the Freedom ship weighs 3 million tons, wouldn't that effect the ocean with all the weight pushing down?

Generally, how come things like Japan's Megafloat, which weighs 1000 tons, doesn't effect the ocean? Or does it?

 

[Mentz114]

There is an effect, but it is too small to be significant. If you float a tiny piece of cork in a big pool, the change in level will be tiny.

 

[russ_watters]

It sounds like you think that when you put a ship in water, the weight of the ship increases the pressure of the water under it. It doesn't - the ship displaces water in an amount equal to it's own weight. That's what buoyancy is.

 

[Xezlec]

Also, Earth's oceans contain, in total, about a quintillion (10^18) tons of water. Who cares about a measly few million (10^6) more tons of stuff?