Many modern boats use similar ratios
and 4 students investigated the question and were supposed to find it could float
Could Noah’s Ark Float? In Theory, Yes | Science | Smithsonian
However, the Bible is clear on one thing: Noah got specific instructions for the ark’s dimensions (300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high) and material (“gopher wood”). Gopher wood may refer to pine, cedar, or cypress wood.
So, if one could hypothetically build an ark to the specifications outlined in the Bible, and actually cram two of every species on the boat, would it float or would Noah have found himself in a Titanic-like scenario? That’s what
four physics graduate students at the University of Leicester wondered. As part of a special course that encourages the students to apply basic physics principles to more general questions, the team did the math and found that an ark full of animals in those dimensions could theoretically float. They recently
published their research in a peer-reviewed, student-run publication, the
Journal of Physics Special Topics.
“You don’t think of the Bible necessarily as a scientifically accurate source of information, so I guess we were quite surprised when we discovered it would work,” said Thomas Morris, one of the students who worked on the project, in a
statement.