Archimedes Principle

I choose this project because I have a general interest in how things float or sink. Like why some small rocks sink where as a giant boat float. I also read about Archimedes in books and heard his named mentioned on educational T.V. When I started to research him and learned that a lot of his inventions were specifically related to war, mostly on how to destroy/sink boats I was draw to it and became very interested. Now here is a nice little paper on Archimedes and his principle on buoyancy density. Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object (Archimedes). To elaborate this means that any fluid that has a density more than the object submerged in it is going to float, if the object has a higher density than the fluid will sink. This was an ingenious discovery back then because they were making lots of discoveries then and it was hard to discover anything that was new and fresh. This whole principle works around weight and density of objects and bodies of water. In fact for Archimedes experiments on buoyancy he used his own bath tube as a body of water but the formula adjusts to different surface density and amounts of water. Archimedes was born in Syracuse, Sicily and lived from 287-212 B.C.E. His father Phidias was an astronomer so he taught his son every thing he had learned. When a Archimedes grew up one of his profession coincidentally was astronomy though not much is know on what he discovered in that field. Along with being an astronomer he was also a mathematician (of course), a physicist, an engineer and an inventor. He invented several things such as the Archimedes screw (used to transfer water from low land areas to the aqueducts for the town), the claw of Archimedes (a claw like weapon used to tip over ships) and the heat ray (with the use of mirrors was able to burn enemy ships); these were all invention that were used constantly when the people of Sicily were where in need of tools for war and every day life. When Archimedes wanted to learn about buoyancy he ask the king, (Hiero II) who a relative of his, for to forms of gold. One piece was in the shape of a crown and other was just a chunk but both the same weight. When he put them in his tub the crown floated and then block sank to the bottom. This showed him that the density mattered for which things will sink which thing will float and which things would be neutral. When he discovered this great thing he was so excited to tell the people that he ran straight outside and when he was outside he noticed that he had not put his close on but he did not care he ran on the streets and yelled Eureka which invented bye him at that very moment. To conclude this paper I want to give you a question to think about. What would life be like if things could not float in water? Picture this: when you go in to the water to swim you sink right to the bottom, you cant rise to the air and you can

barely move at the bottom you are suck. That is what life would be when swimming if there was no buoyancy or density. With the help of Archimedes we now know how density work and how we can use different materials to our advantage. Works Cited "Archimedes' Principle." Archimedes' Principle. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. "Archimedes' Principle." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. "Archimedes." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. Rorres, Chris. "Archimedes." Archimedes Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.