As I write this, the engine room is carefully adjusting the
ship's ballast. This is an interesting physics problem for all
you scholars out there. As we burn fuel, we transform the heavy
liquid into a gas exhaust that leaves the confines of the ship.
Therefore, we're getting lighter. As we get lighter, we sit
higher in the water, losing some stability. How do you correct
for that? Can you think of a way to do it? Well, this is
actually a topic I overheard Captain George Silva discussing
with Chief Engineer Jeff Little and First Engineer Jim Schubert.
If you guessed that the best way to offset the weight of the
fuel lost is to replace it with salt water, you're right!
Underneath the lowest decks of the ship are the fuel containers
and ballast containers. They run all the way from the bow to the
stern and all the way from port to starboard. As you may
imagine, it pays to have many tanks of different sizes in many
locations. But how do you know when to fill certain tanks?
"Well, there's actually a stability prog