Rene Descartes (1596-1650) was a French scientist and mathematician who used this same experiment show people about buoyancy. By squeezing the bottle, the test tube (diver) sinks and when released, the test tube surfaces. You can add hooks, rocks, and more to your set up to make this into a buoyancy game!
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The test tube sinks because the when you squeeze the bottle, you increase the pressure of the water and this forces water up into the test tube, which then compresses the air inside the tube. When this happens, it adds enough mass to cause it to sink. Releasing the squeeze on the bottle means that you decrease the pressure and the water is forced back out of the tube.


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Comments

3 Responses to “Cartesian Diver”

  1. amultiplesmom says:

    That is so cool I made it myself and it is fun to try.

  2. Sounds like a good science experiment! Try it and tell me what happens!

  3. shanesdeals says:

    is warm, cold, or mild water better