Buoyancy Revisited: Floating Materials as a Field Mismatch
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This paper challenges the traditional view of buoyancy, which explains floating based on scalar mass and volume. Instead, it explores the root cause behind buoyancy: how materials interact with the fields around them. Using helium as an example, it shows that some materials float not just because they are light, but because they don’t bond with the surrounding air. This mismatch at the surface — like oil on water — causes them to rise. By focusing on field interactions instead of just weight, this approach opens new possibilities for designing materials that float or levitate through geometry and surface behavior.
Author: White, Kris
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6911991587
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