Explained: What is Archimedes Principle, used in Jharkhand to rescue an elephant

News: Authorities applied the Archimedes Principle, or the ‘upward buoyant force theory’, to bring the elephant out of the well in Gumla district, Jharkhand.

Facts:

Archimedes Principle

•  Discovered by the ancient Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes.
• It refers to the law of buoyancy–the ability or tendency of something to float in water or other fluids.
• According to the principle, when an object is completely or partially submerged in a fluid, whether gas or liquid, it is acted upon by an upward force (buoyancy) equal to the weight of the fluid it has displaced.
• The force acting downward on the object is the weight of the object.
• The difference between the two forces is the net force acting on the object.
• If the buoyant force is more than the weight, the object rises; if it is less, the object sinks.
•  If the net force is zero, the object neither rises nor sinks.