Would a lead lined coffin float?

[MargaretR]

The miners have other plans for her - miners carrying her to dustcart

[MargaretR]

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/a...ral-maggie.jpg

...thats better/bigger

[Gordon Booth]

Originally Posted by Tealeaf

Is there anyone here who does have knowledge of the rates of various gas discharges from a decomposing male body?

If there is they're sick and we don't want to know.

[Tealeaf]

Originally Posted by Gordon Booth

Tealeaf, believe me there's no such thing as a 'simple mathematical excercise' for me these days!I have the memory and attention span of a woodlouse.
I love the sketch but you can see why I left the extra air space-your little man is LOOKING OUT at us! He's still alive!

I'm glad you liked my sketch, Gordon.

I'm thinking of submitting it into next year's Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. The title will be "Man in Sinking Coffin, With Calculations By Gordon Booth".

Or I may entitle it " Artistic Contribution From Accy With No Cost To The Public Purse".

What do you think's best?

[Gordon Booth]

I think 'Man in Floating Coffin' would be better. Spare me the credits, I seek not fame.
Whatever, it's an improvement on crocheted sculpture.

[Less]

Originally Posted by Tealeaf

Very hypothetical, Busman. You could also argue that if various gases were given off then the internal pressure would have been such so as to explode the coffin. Is there anyone here who does have knowledge of the rates of various gas discharges from a decomposing male body?

If a sealed balloon with some Liquid Nitrogen in it was placed on a scale and weighed say, 1g, although the Nitrogen would soon expand into a gas inflating the balloon, the scale would still register 1g.

So, as long as any gasses within the coffin didn't break the seal it too would still weigh the same.

Originally Posted by walkinman221

Is that less in those coffins?

No I have my own filled with the soil from the place of my birth.

[Tealeaf]

Originally Posted by Less

If a sealed balloon with some Liquid Nitrogen in it was placed on a scale and weighed say, 1g, although the Nitrogen would soon expand into a gas inflating the balloon, the scale would still register 1g.

So, as long as any gasses within the coffin didn't break the seal it too would still weigh the same.

Yeah, but my question was whether or not the resultant gas expansion would be sufficient to explode the coffin.

[Less]

Originally Posted by Tealeaf

Yeah, but my question was whether or not the resultant gas expansion would be sufficient to explode the coffin.

Perhaps if instead of quoting you, I had quoted Busman as I'd meant to, the post would have looked similar to this:-

Originally Posted by Busman747

If the coffin was actually air-tight, the body would surely become much, much lighter and the longer it decays and the various gasses given off from the corpse may have more boyancy than the original air that was in the coffin at the time of sealing the lid on..........?

Originally Posted by Less

If a sealed balloon with some Liquid Nitrogen in it was placed on a scale and weighed say, 1g, although the Nitrogen would soon expand into a gas inflating the balloon, the scale would still register 1g.

So, as long as any gasses within the coffin didn't break the seal it too would still weigh the same.

[Gordon Booth]

Tealeaf, you're still trying to spoil it by being a realist! Is there no romance left in you?
Lead is very ductile so the gas pressure would stretch the lead slowly, thus creating MORE volume and the coffin would float even better! There!
I'll bet you don't even believe in fairies, do you?

[Tealeaf]

I am merely exploring every avenue, Gordon.

[Gordon Booth]

Actually I still think I could have got it wrong somewhere- I can't believe it would only displace 4.2 inches of water. I was hoping some of our young graduates would come on and prove or disprove it.Perhaps their degrees are not in this sort of subject?
BUT-Neill checked it and agreed, so that's two of us. I'll dream on.

[Tealeaf]

You sure you got the lead weight right? If you remember when the Queen of Tarts died back in '97, her coffin was lead lined and that apparently weighed 700lbs.

[Benipete]

Would It still be 4.2 inches If It floated in the Dead Sea?

[Gordon Booth]

The 4.2 inches was in fresh water.In salt water it would be even less, in the Dead Sea it would hardly get wet.

[Less]

Originally Posted by Gordon Booth

Tealeaf, you're still trying to spoil it by being a realist! Is there no romance left in you?
Lead is very ductile so the gas pressure would stretch the lead slowly, thus creating MORE volume and the coffin would float even better! There!
I'll bet you don't even believe in fairies, do you?

I'd check with Archimedes if I was you.