As the glass descends deeper into the water, an increasing force is felt pressing up against the glass. Since the water pressure is evidently getting greater at greater depths, a submerged object will feel a greater force pushing up on its bottom than it will pressing down on its top. Hence it feels lighter in water. We are now ready to investigate the nature of pressures in fluids. The pressure exerted by a fluid is a result only of the depth below the surface the shape of the vessel is not important.
Pressure is defined as force per unit area.
A fish tank holds 40.3 pounds of water and its bottom measures 18 inches by 9 inches. In the late '50s, spike heels were popular. A block of wood measures 5 cm by 3 cm by 11 cm, and has a mass of 108 gm. A submarine rests 17.3 m below the surface of a lake of alcohol. A marble, with a radius of 0.60 cm sits at the bottom of a swimming pool 4.8 m deep.