Archimedes By: Ryan Trevino Mr.

Gain Biology September 20, 2013

Archimedes is one of the most famous, inventive and philosophical mathematician of ancient times. Archimedes, who was Greek, was also a mechanical engineer and physicist. But he was most recognized as an inventor. His surviving writings are among the masterpieces of scientific literature and are still recognized today. Archimedes was born in Syracuse, the largest Greek settlement in Sicily sometime around 285 BC. It is unsure but according to different sources his father, Phidias was an astronomer. This could explain why Archimedes was interested in the Sciences. There is not any recorded information on his mother or siblings. Sources also state that he was related to King Hiero who gained power and made himself king of Syracuse in 275 B.C. If the two where related, this is a reason why Archimedes studied in Alexandria, Egypt, the well-known center of learning and scientific study of the ancient world. He had the chance to study with two other great scholars, Conon of Samos, and Eratosthenes of Cyrene both were famous astronomers and mathematicians. However, Archimedes did not spend his whole life in Alexandria only a few years. It is also unknown if Archimedes ever married or had children. Many think he was married to his scientific studies. Under King Hiero, Archimedes was able to appreciate a lifetime of undisturbed scientific research. Most of his discoveries were completed with Hiero support. Archimedes invented a device called the Archimedean screw which was used to drain and irrigate the land in the Nile Valley. Placing the lower end of the spiral shape screw into the water would cause the water to rise to the top. The invention was used by others in the Roman World and its still used today. Archimedes also invented devices to protect Syracuse against Roman invasions, such as cranes and catapults. The cranes were used to pull Roman ships out of

the water and catapults were used to shoot large heavy rocks at their enemy. The Archimedes claw, also known as the Ship-Shaker, the Snatcher, and the Iron Hand was so unique that no one was able to reproduce it even the Romans. The claw could do two things. First, the Claw would be drop on the ships decks. The Claw would smash through the center of the ship creating a hole and caused the ship to sink. Second, the claw could tangle itself with the ships riggings and the defenders would lift the ship out of the water, shake it and drop it back into the water. This would also cause the ship to sink quickly. The claw was a weapon that the enemy could not defeat. Archimedes favorite quote was Give me a firm place to stand upon and I shall move the world. It was in regards to his work related to the principals of leverage. Archimedes didnt invent the lever, but he did expand on it. He was also one of the first to develop a primary system of ropes and pulleys. They were utilized in the Syracuse docks to make stowing and removal of cargo simpler. While he was investigating forces and motions, he learned that objects have a center of gravity. Archimedes made great contributions to mathematics. His most famous discovery was the Archimedes Principle. This discovery was made because the King of Syracuse needed Archimedes assistance. The King Hiero had a special crown made from gold and wanted to make sure the goldsmith had not cheated him. The King wanted to verify that the goldsmith had used the correct amount of gold. Legend says that Archimedes had his revelation as he entered a tub of water. He realized that the shape of an object would not change its volume. He placed the crown and a solid piece of gold with the same weight in the water. The two objects should move the same amount of water. If the crown moved more water than the goldsmith had cheated the King of gold. To Archimedes discovery the movement of water was the same. Another of his

mathematical theories is the Quadrature of a Circle. Archimedes discovered the approximate square route of the number three. It is unsure how he discovered this significant result, but it is suggested that the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter is between (3 and 10/71) and (3 and 1/7). This problem is a very close calculation to the mathematical value of pi ( ). Another one of his discoveries in mathematics was the area of a parabolic segment. This is a curved shaped in geometry. The area of any section of a parabola is 4/3 of the area of the triangle having the same base and height as that section. It was a one of his most perfect discoveries until the introduction of integral calculus in the 17th century. Today many of Archimedes works are still around today, mostly his mathematical work. His two volume thesis, On the Sphere and Cylinder, describes how to calculate the area of a sphere. His formula is still what mathematicians use today. He also proved that the surface area of the circumscribed sphere was four times the area of its orthodrome. His theory stated that the volume of the ball found within the sphere was approximately 2/3 the volume of the cylinder which encircled it. Another famous treatise was On Floating Bodies. This is the first recognized writing on hydrostatics and Archimedes is known to be the discoverer. He discusses the positions that the different solids will be in when floating in liquid, buoyancy. Buoyancy is the weight that an object loses when it is placed in a liquid as related to its weight in air. This is also part of what is known as Archimedes principle. Because of all the things he discovered and wrote about, Archimedes became the greatest inventor, mathematician, and scientist of the ancient world. His discoveries and theories have provided the foundation for modern physics. . His discoveries and inventions in mathematics

and physics were massive and ahead of their time and make him one of the greatest scientists in history.

Bibliography Archimedes. Columbia Encyclopedia (n.d.): Columbia Encyclopedia Web. 16 Aug. 2013 Archimedes Screw. Columbia Encyclopedia (n.d.): Columbia Encyclopedia Web. 16 Aug. 2013 Legends of the Ancient World: The Life and Legacy of Archimedes. Charles River Editors, 2013. 31. eBook Peterson, Blake E. Archimedean Solid. World Book Advanced. World Book, 2013. Web 16 Aug 2013.

Archimedes studied at Euclid's school in Alexandria