Recently, Archimedes Principle was used in Jharkhand to rescue baby elephant stuck in a well. The rescue team filled the well with water using motorized pipes, after which the struggling elephant floated to the top and was able to climb out through a ramp placed for it.

What is the ‘Archimedes Principle’?

• In physics, the Archimedes Principle 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 upward force is the one given by the Archimedes Principle.
• 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 remains in place, and neither rises nor sinks.

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