Is it possible to tell without breaking a crown, if is it made of real gold or fake? If you fully understand Archimedes principle, it is definitely possible. Many of us know the story behind Archimede principle, but we don’t know how this formula can actually determine the authenticity of a gold crown. But here lies the real fun of Archimedes’ formula. So let’s come to Archimedes’s formula first.
Explanation of Archimedes Principle
The Greek mathematician and famous physicist Archimedes discovered that when an object is immersed in a liquid or gas, the object appears to lose some weight. For example, if you cannot lift a tree stump when it is on the ground, you can easily lift it when it is submerged in water. That is, it will seem lighter to you or the object will seem to have lost weight. Archimedes explained this lost weight. He discovered that the weight lost by an object when immersed in water is equal to the weight of liquid or gaseous matter displaced by the object. This is called Archimede principle.
This simple explanation is that if you submerge a wooden block weighing 100 kg and having a volume of 40 liters in water, the wooden block will occupy an area equal to that of 40 liters of water or displace 40 liters of water if fully submerged. Since the object is displacing 40 liters of water, the object will also lose 40 kg of weight by submerging in water. That is, as a result of immersion in water, the weight of the object will decrease from 100 kg to 40 kg to 60 kg.
You will surely understand now, you can even wash this wooden doll weighing 100 kg in water if you want. If you make a wooden box out of that 100 kg wooden block, the volume of the box will increase even if it weighs 100 kg due to leaving a lot of empty space inside the box. Assume that you have made the volume of the box 120 liters by leaving empty space inside. Now by immersing this box in water, it will displace 120 liters of water.
But the weight of the box was 100 kg, there is no chance to lose an extra 20 kg weight. So the box will not completely submerge in water. Ships or boats are basically made from this explanation. Ships or boats weigh much less than the amount of water they displace.
How did to determine the adulteration of gold by Archimedes Principle?
Now let’s talk about how Archimedes determined the adulteration of gold. First, he took pure gold equal to the weight of the crown to be checked for adulteration. Then it is confirmed that the weight of the crown and the weight of the gold it takes are equal.
Now he immersed the crown in a water container completely filled with water and determined the amount of water removed by immersing the crown. In the same way, the pure gold taken equal to the weight of the crown was immersed in water and the amount of water removed was determined.
If the amount of water removed by dipping the crown and the gold is equal, then we can say that the volume of the crown and the volume of pure gold are equal.
Earlier we took the mass of pure gold and crown to be equal. And now the volume has become equal.
The density of any object is equal to the ratio of its mass to its volume. Now if two objects have equal mass and volume then their density must also be equal. In the same way, crown and pure gold have the same mass and volume, so their density is equal. That means the crown and pure gold have equaled their elemental density or found their elemental similarity. That means the crown is made of pure gold.
And if there was no similarity in volume, we could say with certainty that the density or composition of the pure gold and the crown are not the same. That means the crown is not pure gold. This is how Archimedes diagnosed the adulteration of gold in the crown.
Archimedes Principle
Archimedes principle is- “The weight lost by an object immersed in a fixed liquid or gas is equal to the weight of the liquid or gas displaced by the object”.
Application of Archimedes Principle
Archimedes principle is widely used in science.
- It is used in the design of ships and submarines.
- It is used in a lactometer to determine the purity of milk.
- It is used in hydrometers to determine the density of liquids.
- It helps fish float in water.
- The volume of a solid can be determined.
- The relative importance or density of an object can be determined.
- Applied in determining the purity of metals.
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