 Floating equilibrium

A freely floating body at rest has no supporting contact or applied holding force. Neglecting surface tension and the buoyancy of air, its upward buoyancy balances its downward force from gravity:For a body of uniform mass density ${\rho }_{\mathrm{body}}$ and total volume $V_{\mathrm{body}}$, its mass is $m={\rho }_{\mathrm{body}}{V}_{\mathrm{body}}$. Substitution into Archimedes' principle givesPartial immersion is possible when ${\rho }_{\mathrm{body}}<{\rho }_f$. A nonuniform body uses its mean mass density $m/V_{\mathrm{body}}$ instead; for a hollow body this volume must count the enclosed space that excludes water. This explains how the amount of displaced water can support a vessel whose walls alone are denser than water. ^[ref]

For the $600\mathrm{kg}{\mathrm{m}}^{-3}$ cube in water of mass density $1000\mathrm{kg}{\mathrm{m}}^{-3}$, the displaced fraction is $600/1000=0.60$: sixty percent of its volume lies below the surface. With a horizontal top and bottom, the immersed depth $d$ satisfies $V_{\mathrm{displaced}}=Ad$, soIts remaining height is $0.040\mathrm{m}$, and the buoyancy is $1000\times 9.81\times 0.000600=5.886\mathrm{N}$, exactly balancing its downward force from gravity.