Ship stability

When a big ship is floating in water, it needs to stay upright and not tip over. This is called "ship stability." Just like how you need to balance on a seesaw or a bike, a ship needs to balance too.

There are two important things that affect a ship's stability: its weight and how it's distributed. If a ship has a lot of weight on one side, it will start to tip in that direction. So, the weight needs to be balanced out on both sides.

But it's not just about the weight on the ship, it's also about how that weight is sitting in the ship. A ship that has a lot of weight very high up will tip over more easily than one that has the weight distributed more evenly. Just like how a tall tower made of blocks is easier to knock over than a short one, a ship with a lot of heavy cargo stacked up high will be more unstable.

There are also other factors that can affect ship stability, like the size and shape of the ship, the type of material it's made of, and the amount of water it's floating in.

To make sure a ship is stable, engineers use complex calculations and simulations to predict how it will behave in different conditions. They have to take into account things like wind, waves, and currents, as well as the weight and distribution of cargo and passengers onboard.

Overall, ship stability is all about making sure a big, heavy ship stays balanced and doesn't tip over in the water, which can be very dangerous!