h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Which way up does a human eyeball float? On TV recently an eyeball was found floating in a mug of drink, coloured/lens side up (can't think of a better way to describe it).

I know there are two different humours in the eye which might have different bouyancy properties. Would it float like that, or not so and just presented for dramatic effect?

One way to find out for sure ....

Seriously though, probably depends on how much of the optic nerve has remained inside. If it was pulled out when the eye was removed, I imagine this would make the back-end lighter, and cause it to float lens side down.

Thanks guys. Seems as if this is like loads of other things about the human body; the answer to most any question is "It depends".

Would an eyeball float at all?

Apart from those made buoyant by gas, or possibly by fat, which tissues or body-parts would float?

Lungs if they're inflated by air.

one way to determine whether a child is live born or stillborn is to open the chest under water and remove the lungs and see if they float. Floating lungs means that the baby has breathed itself and thus was live born.

That's a clear case of "made bouyant by gas", though.

Like any other solid object, it will depend on the overall weight of the eyeball - displacement of equal weight of water (oh dear my physics is rather rusty).