Archimedes of Syracuse

Archimedes of Syracuse established a reputation as an inventor of practical machines but became more famous for his discoveries in mathematics and physics. Archimedes (287-212 BC) was born in Syracuse, the large Greek settlement in Sicily. He was born into a wealthy family and well connected.

His father, Pheidias, was well known as a respected astronomer. As a son of a scientist and member of the upper class, Archimedes received good education.

He studied in Alexandria as a young man, but presently return to Syracuse in Sicily, where he lived on close terms with king of that city.

The king was a relative. He had plenty of time to indulge his passion – mathematics, physics and engineering.

Archimedes quickly established his reputation as a creative inventor.

Archimedes did much of his work for King Hero. On one famous story, the king suspected that a goldsmith had not made a new coin of pure gold, but had mixed in some less costly silver.

The king asked Archimedes t find out if the goldsmith has cheated. Archimedes used the law of displacement to compare the amount of water displaced by the coin to the amount of water displaced by an equal weight of pure gold.

The coin displaced less water and so it was not pure gold. The goldsmith had cheated.

Archimedes devised all sorts of amazing devices based on scientific principles.

In 212 the Romans attacked Syracuse and Archimedes was urged to help defend the town. He is said to be invented machines for hurling enormous weights at the Roman ships, great cranes which could pluck them out of the water.

He even used huge mirror to focus the heat of the sun on approaching Roman ships and set them on fire.

He is one of the earliest but also most important scientist who ever lived.

His mathematical discoveries were much more important. He wrote more than 20 books about his discoveries in diverse branches of mathematics and physics.

One of Archimedes’ finest mathematical achievements was his perfection of the method of exhaustion.
Archimedes of Syracuse

The Concept of Buoyancy

The Concept of Buoyancy
The concepts of buoyancy (water pushes up on an object with a force equal to the weight of water that the object displaces) and of levels (a force pushing down on one side of a lever creates a lifting on the other side that is proportional to the length of the two sides of the lever) lie at the foundation of all quantitative science and engineering.

In 260 BC 26 year Archimedes studied the two known sciences – astronomy and geometry.

One day Archimedes was distracted by four boys playing on the beach with a driftwood plank. They balanced the board over a waist – high rock. One boy straddled one end while his three friends jumped hard onto the other.

The lone boy was tossed into the air.

The boys slid the board off center along their balancing rock so that only one quarter of it remained on the short side.

Three of the boys climbed onto the short, top end. The fourth boy bounded onto the raising long end, crashing it back down to the sand and catapulting his three friends into the air.

Archimedes was fascinated. And he determined to understand the principles that so easily allowed a small weight (one boy) to lift a large weight (three boys).
The Concept of Buoyancy

Archimedes of Syracuse

Archimedes of Syracuse
He was Greek engineer who made the first measurement of specific gravity.

He studied in Alexandria, after which he returned to Syracuse where he spent most of the rest of the life.

He made many mathematical discoveries, including the most accurate calculation of pi made up to that time.

In engineering he was the founder of the science of hydrostatics. He is well known for the discovery of ‘Archimedes Law’ that a body wholly or partly immersed in a fluid loses weight equal to the weight of the fluid displaced.

He thus made the first measurement of specific gravity.

Archimedes also proved the law of the lever and developed the theory of mechanical advantage boasting to his cousin Hieron, ‘Give me a place to stand on and with a lever I will move the whole world.’

To prove his point, he launched one of the biggest ships built up to that date.
During his time in Egypt he devised the ‘Archimedean Screw’, still used today in Middle Eastern countries for pumping water.

He also built an astronomical instrument to demonstrate the movements of the heavenly bodies, a form of orrery.

He was General of Ordnance to Heiron and when the Romans besieged Syracuse, a legionary came across Archimedes geometrical diagrams in he sand.

Archimedes immediately told him to ‘Keep off’ and the soldier killed him.

He also experimented with burning glasses and mirrors or setting for to wooden ships.
Archimedes of Syracuse