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The largest container ship in the world is currently (as of April 2022) the Ever Ace. It can transport more than 200,000 tons, so it is extremely heavy. But how can such heavy ships even float? Is there a weight limit? For a ship to float, the buoyancy force must be as great as the weight acting on the ship. A floating body sinks into the water until it displaces exactly as much water as it weighs. Only then does it displace enough water so that the buoyancy force and the weight force are equal. However, the amount of water displaced does not depend on the weight, but on the density of a body. If the density is less than that of the water, the body floats. A ship made of steel would actually have to sink, at least if it were a solid block of steel. Because: The density of steel is much higher than that of water. In order for it to float anyway, the volume of the ship must be adjusted so that the density is as small as possible. To do this, the volume is increased, the shape is adjusted, and a ship's hull is created. The ship then displaces exactly as much water as it weighs. Of course, a ship is not just made of steel, but also of many other materials. That's why the so-called average density is important. That is, all the materials on the ship taken together. The average density of the ship must ultimately be less than that of the water! This means that the weight of ships is not necessarily crucial. The volume of the ship plays a role and is adjusted via the shape of the hull. From a purely physical point of view, ships could be built to be extremely heavy. But then the ships would have to get bigger and bigger. But the heavier and bigger they are, the more difficult it is for them to travel through wide rivers and dock at ports. This alone sets certain limits for the ocean giants. 0:00 Buoyancy and weight 1:16 Why do some bodies float and others don't? 3:54 Why does a ship made of steel float? Sources: Recordings of the Ever Ace: Port of Hamburg / Dietmar Hasenpusch Photo-Productions This video is a production of ZDF in cooperation with Bilderfest. Further links: Subscribe? Just click here – / @terraxplus Terra X instead of school in the ZDFmediathek – https://kurz.zdf.de/schuletx/#xtor=CS... Terra X on Facebook – / zdfterrax Terra X on Instagram – / terrax