Comment on Another mystery solved.
alberttcone@sh.itjust.works 5 months agoI think that it’s implicit that the volume of Godzilla would increase; we need to assume that the bounding layer has a degree of elasticity and that that the matter displaced by the flotation cavity will expand into that, reducing the net density.
Mighty Godzilla, with power untold Rises through the waves; his powers unfold Hidden muscles in clever design Create a new chamber as they realign
Inflating his body, a titanic display Defying the depths, he floats up and away No long bound by the oceans’s might Godzilla soars, a triumphant sight!
abfarid@startrek.website 5 months ago
Yes, that would work. But imagine the swelling, to give Godzilla that much bouyancy.
5C5C5C@programming.dev 5 months ago
Ordinary biomatter is very close to the density of water to begin with. That’s why having a little air in your lungs is enough to be the difference between sinking and floating.
If Godzilla’s biomatter under 1atm of pressure has a density close to water then being able to compress or expand an empty chamber inside his body by even just a tiny percentage of his ordinary overall volume could be the difference between floating at sea level or sinking to extreme depths.
abfarid@startrek.website 5 months ago
First, let’s address the expansion of lungs, because you say “little air”, but in terms of volume, lungs are very big. On average, the volume of a human body is about 65 liters. When person fully exhales, the lung capacity is at about 1-1.5L; when expanded, it’s about 5-6L. Interpreted charitably, that’s roughly 8% percent of the entire human body volume. So realistically, expansion of the body by 8% is the difference between slowly sinking, and floating with the top of your skull (or roughly 1% of your body volume) peaking out of water.
Now, Godzilla, on the other hand, has like 80% of his body above water. Can you imagine, the amount of expansion that needs to happen for that much buoyancy? That’s pufferfish territory.
So no, a “tiny percentage” increase in body volume driven by empty chamber “inside” his body would not be enough.