You must hold the lever in place to allow the whale s spermaceti organ to function. Notice the liquid that fills the spermaceti organ , located in the front part of the sperm whale s head. By moving the lever up and down you are controlling the whale s buoyancy, or its ability to float. In the ocean, sperm whales control their own buoyancy. To dive or float they change the density of the spermaceti wax in their heads.
Density is mass divided by volume.
Objects that are more dense than water sink, while objects that are less dense than water rise. By changing the temperature of its spermaceti, a whale can make this special wax more dense or less dense. The red liquid in this exhibit represents body heat. The clear liquid represents cold ocean water. When a sperm whale wants to dive, it breathes in cold ocean water through its nose.