This force opposes the direction of the hydrostatic pressure gradient, and its magnitude equals the density times gravity times the volume of an object.
The metacentric point is the intersection of two vectors representing this force. This force is represented by the isothermal compressibility times temperature difference between surroundings and surface in the numerator of the Grashof number, which compares it to viscous forces. The magnitude of this force is assumed not to be constant in the Boussinesq approximation. In a gas, the neutral type of this force exactly balances (*) gravity. This force opposes the direction of the hydrostatic pressure gradient, and its magnitude equals the density times gravity times the volume of an object. The center of this force must be close to the center of gravity for a ship to be stable. For 10 points, name this force whose magnitude is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced and which causes objects to float.
The metacentric point is the intersection of two vectors representing this force.
buoyancy [or the buoyant force] 