Does titanium float?
Does titanium float?
No
4,506 kg/m³ against water's 1,000
Titanium sinks. At 4,506 kg/m³ it is 4.51 times denser than water.
Why
Floating is decided by density alone — mass divided by volume — compared against the fluid. Weight has nothing to do with it directly: a 200-tonne ship floats and a 2-gram pebble sinks, because the ship encloses enough air to bring its average density below that of water. That is also the only reason a steel hull works.
The numbers
- Density
- 4,506 kg/m³
- Relative to fresh water
- 4.506×
- Floats in fresh water
- No
- Floats in seawater
- No
Compared with other materials
| Material | Density | Floats |
|---|---|---|
| slate | 2,750 kg/m³ | No |
| aluminum 7075 | 2,810 kg/m³ | No |
| silicon carbide | 3,210 kg/m³ | No |
| diamond | 3,515 kg/m³ | No |
| alumina | 3,900 kg/m³ | No |
| Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy | 4,430 kg/m³ | No |
| titanium ← | 4,506 kg/m³ | No |
Common questions
- Does titanium float in water?
- No — at 4,506 kg/m³ it is denser than water's 1,000.
- Does weight decide whether something floats?
- No, density does. A 200-tonne ship floats and a small pebble sinks, because the ship encloses enough air to bring its average density below water.
Related pages
- Titanium properties Density, melting point, strength
- Does air float? Yes
- Does expanded polystyrene foam float? Yes
- Does rigid polyurethane foam float? Yes
- Does EVA foam float? Yes
- Does balsa float? Yes
- Does corrugated cardboard float? Yes
- Does cork float? Yes
- Does western red cedar float? Yes
Sources
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)