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Mystery #4Tier 2-3water / pressure / density

How does a heavy metal submarine choose to sink, then float back up?

A submarine is built from thousands of tonnes of metal, yet it can rest on the surface like a duck one minute and slip deep underwater the next, then rise again exactly when it chooses. Most things either float or sink and are stuck that way forever. How does a submarine get to pick?

A white tourist submarine at the surface of the sea, its conning tower and deck showing above the water.
Photo: Dorothy · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

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