🚀 go-pugleaf

> LUDVIK: in regards to the floating objects I would say I agree with the
> statement.  I understand your position but suspect it is really a
> question of semantics.

Semantic disagreements result when people define terms in different ways.
I think that the meaning of the term "stable equilibrium" is unambigous and
nobody should be free to redefine it. In the context of our topic it refers
to configurations in which a small change in position generates a restoring
torque. You are correct, the way in which the term is implicitly defined in
the quoted article (The Physics Teacher, November 1994, page 470) is unusual
and that is the problem. A short wooden cylider whose density is 0.5 g/cm^3
has its center of mass at the level of supporting water while the center of
buoyancy is at h/4 below (h is the height of the cylinder). But the vertical
configuration is nevertheless stable; tilting produces a torque which
tends to restore the system.

          Ludwik Kowalski    kowalski@apollo.montclair.edu