A theoretical question if I may, dear /Sci. Obviously if you

>>8179840
Are you stupid? Why do you think objects are buoyant?

Interesting question OP, I have no idea though. I suck at physics
>>8179844
And you expect common people to know what buoyant forces are?

>>8179840

If the ball is placed perfectly at the center it'll stay there, but it's an unstable system. If the ball is perturbed it'll float to the surface for the same reason it would in a "normal" body of water.

>>8179850
so would it float to the surface that's closest to it after the perturbation?

>>8179852
Short answer yes

>>8179840
No gravity = no movement. Buoyancy comes from gravity.

>>8179850
It wouldn't float, there is no gravity.

>>8179861
Of course there is gravity, since there is mass. OP said there is no external gravity.

There's no external gravity, but doesn't the mass of the water have its own gravitational force?

>>8179850
Only correct answer right here

Any sort of gravitational force is going to be vastly overpowered by random fluctuation of water pressure. The surface of the water is not going to be static, and this is going to cause internal flow, pushing the ball one way or another. In addition to that, you'll see Brownian motion. There's not enough gravity for buoyancy to overcome any of these small effects.

>>8180081
If we're just imagining a ball of water in space where does the water pressure come from?

>>8180084
The water will be held together because of the surface tension, which in this case is the dominate force. Within the fluid, you have Van der Waals forces that bring the molecules together. If the volume of water changes shape even slightly, that implies you have some internal flow. This will push and pull suspended macroscopic objects around with it.

>>8179840
>>8179850 is correct.
To expand a little for someone who does not understand buoyancy: the water is more dense than the ball. Buoyancy forces objects towards the surface by the more dense matter being pulled inwards and displacing the less dense object upwards. I say object in the second case, because for a sealed ball that cannot be infiltrated by the water, or a canoe on the surface, you must compare the total displaced fluid against the total volume of the object submerged -- this is why air pockets cause high buoyancy, air is extremely low density and thus lowers the "average" density of the object despite the container being more dense.

While external gravity is the primary cause (the water weight displaces the lighter weight), the incredibly small self-gravity of this sphere of water and the I imagine the water tension should exacerbate whatever initial displacement happens from instability. I'm a bit less sure about this part, so this post is mostly to explain normal buoyancy.

>>8180094
Of course, this all depends on the temperature of the water, and if it's alone in space, the temp will quickly drop until the water is in thermal equilibrium with the surroundings. Far from a heat source like a star, this means the water will definitely freeze. Of course if there are dissolved gasses like O2 in the water, it will boil first, turning to vapor and ruining the thought experiment in a completely different way.