Description
Description
The position of the metacentre can be varied to produce stable and unstable equilibrium.
The equipment consists of a plastic rectangular floating pontoon where the centre of gravity can be varied by an adjustable weight which slides and can be clamped in any position on a vertical mast.
A single plumb bob is suspended from the mast which indicates the angle of heel on a calibrated scale. A weight with lateral adjustment enables the degree of heel to be varied and hence the stability of the pontoon determined.
The equipment does not require a separate water tank as it may be used on the hydraulics bench by filling the volumetric tank.
Experement
- Determining the centre of gravity of the pontoon
- Determining the metacentric height and from this the position of the metacentre for the pontoon
- Varying the metacentric height with angle of heel
