Answer to Question #25718 in Molecular Physics | Thermodynamics for Aaishah

Question

An airship contains 6*10^3 m^3 of helium. Helium has a density of 0.180 kg m^-3. Given That the air has a density of 1.20 kg m^-3 at the height at which the airship is floating in equilibrium, what load is the airship carrying?

Answer 1

The Archimedes force for this airship can be find as
Fa = (rho_air - rho_helium)*g*V

where V=6*10^3 m^3 is volume of helium, g=9.8 m/s^2 and (rho_air - rho_helium) is the difference of densities. Therefore

Fa = (1.2-0.18)*6*10^3*9.8 = 59976 N
It means, that this airship can carry
59976/9.8 = 6120 kg