Helena Frye
In *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl*, there is a scene in which Will and Jack carry a boat underwater. This has sparked debate about whether the scene is physically possible. Some have argued that the boat would need to be extremely heavy to counteract the upward buoyancy force of the air trapped inside it. Others have suggested that the air could be trapped under the boat, allowing the characters to breathe, as long as the weight of the boat counteracts the push of the air trying to escape.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Volume of the boat | The volume of the boat is the same upside down underwater as it is right side up floating at max capacity |
| Buoyancy | The boat would need to be very heavy to counteract the upward buoyancy force of the air inside |
| Air | Air is trapped under the boat |
| Breathing | People are able to breathe freely |
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What You'll Learn
- The boat would need to be very heavy to counteract the buoyancy force of the air inside it
- The boat would need to be weighted down to be pulled underwater
- The people inside the boat would need to be 'swimming downwards' to help counteract buoyancy
- The air inside the boat would need to be balanced with the amount of water outside it
- The boat would need to be carried upside down to trap the air inside
The boat would need to be very heavy to counteract the buoyancy force of the air inside it
To achieve this in reality, the boat would need to be extremely heavy. There is likely to be around a cubic metre of air in the boat, which would require a mass of a tonne to counter. This would make it very difficult to get the boat into the water in the first place.
The volume of the boat is the same whether it's upside down underwater or floating right side up. This means that the weight of the boat would need to be greater than the buoyant force of the people's torsos in the water to stay submerged.
The trick to trapping air underwater is negative buoyancy. By balancing the amount of air and water, you can create enough pressure to counteract the force of the air trying to escape. This is similar to how a drinking glass can trap air when pushed into the water.
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The boat would need to be weighted down to be pulled underwater
To achieve negative buoyancy, the weight of the boat would need to exceed the buoyant force of the people's torsos in the water. This would make it harder to stay underwater, as the people would need to "swim downwards" to counteract the upward buoyancy force.
One way to trap air underwater is to use a diving bell, which was used in the early 17th century to salvage items from a sunken ship near Stockholm. A similar principle could be applied to the boat in the Pirates of the Caribbean scene, with the air trapped under the boat as it is carried underwater. However, this would require careful balancing of the amount of air and water to ensure that the heaviness of the boat counteracts the push of the air trying to escape.
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The people inside the boat would need to be 'swimming downwards' to help counteract buoyancy
In the scene in *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl* where Will and Jack carry a boat underwater, the boat is completely submerged. This would not be possible in real life without counteracting the upward buoyancy force of the air inside the boat with a very heavy boat or weights.
The people inside the boat would need to be swimming downwards to help counteract buoyancy. The volume of the boat is the same upside down underwater as it is floating right side up, so the weight of the boat would need to be greater than the buoyant force of the people's torsos in the water. This would make it harder to stay underwater. If two people can sit in a canoe without sinking it, they can't pull it underwater full of air.
The trick is negative buoyancy, so the boat can be carried upside down under the water and still have air to breathe. The amount of air and the amount of water need to be balanced so that the heaviness of the boat counteracts the push of the air trying to escape.
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The air inside the boat would need to be balanced with the amount of water outside it
The scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, in which a boat is completely submerged underwater, has been questioned for its realism. The air inside the boat would need to be balanced with the amount of water outside it, as all that air produces an upward buoyancy force that needs to be counteracted. The boat would need to be very heavy to achieve this, but if it were so heavy, it would be difficult to get it into the water in the first place.
One way to achieve this balance is through negative buoyancy, as demonstrated by pushing a drinking glass opening-down into the water. The air gets trapped in the glass, and if you were a tiny person standing under that glass, you would be able to breathe. The glass experiences pressure pushing up on it because the air wants to escape, so you need to balance the amount of air and water to trap the air effectively.
In the movie scene, Will and Jack carry a boat underwater, and the water does not reach the inner part of the boat, allowing them to breathe freely. This is possible if the boat is heavy enough to counteract the push of the air trying to escape, or if they are "swimming downwards" in some way with their feet. However, it is questionable whether such a heavy boat could be manoeuvred so easily underwater.
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The boat would need to be carried upside down to trap the air inside
To trap the air inside the boat, it would need to be carried upside down under the water. This is similar to the way air is trapped in a drinking glass when it is pushed opening-down into the water. The heaviness of the glass counteracts the push of the air trying to escape, effectively trapping the air under the water.
In the movie, Will and Jack are able to carry the boat underwater and breathe freely. However, this scene has been questioned by some viewers who argue that it would be difficult to completely submerge a boat underwater without it floating back up due to the buoyancy force of the air inside.
To make the scene more realistic, the boat could have been weighted down in some way or the characters could have been shown "swimming downwards" to counteract the buoyancy force.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the scene is not realistic. The boat would need to be very heavy to counteract the upward buoyancy force of the air trapped inside.
The air was trapped under the boat, allowing the characters to breathe.
The volume of the boat is the same upside down underwater as it is floating right side up. However, the boat would need to be weighted down to counteract the buoyant force of the people's torsos in the water.
Yes, a similar idea was used in the 17th century to salvage items from a ship that sunk near Stockholm.
