The Balance of Giant Ships

Giant ships are built like massive LEGOs and float thanks to one tiny measurement.

Modern shipyards don't build from the ground up; they construct huge, pre-fabricated blocks

and then weld them together. But how does this steel behemoth stay upright in rough

seas? It's all about the Metacentric Height, or GM. This is the critical

distance between the ship's center of gravity and its balancing point. If GM is positive,

the ship is stable. If it becomes negative from bad loading or sloshing liquids, it will capsize.

So, every container ship is a carefully balanced puzzle, held upright by

a single, crucial number.