ARCHIMEDES

Archimedes was an ancient Greek man who lived from around 287 BC- 212 BC. He was

one of the greatest ancient scientists and one of the best mathematicians of all time. Very little is

known about his life. We know that he was born in Syracuse on the island Sicily, probably spent

a few years studying math in Alexandria, and may have been related to the Sicilian royalty.

Probably the most famous story about Archimedes tells about how he found a way to

measure the density of oddly-shaped objects. The King of Sicily had ordered a blacksmith to

make him a crown of pure gold. Once he got it he wanted Archimedes to make sure that it really

was gold and that no silver had been added. Later when Archimedes lowered himself into his

bath, he noticed that the water level rose. He realized he could use water displacement to

measure the density of the crown versus the density of pure gold. In his excitement, he jumped

out of the bath and ran outside naked screaming “Eureka!” (which means “I found it!” in Greek).

Archimedes discovered many important mathematical principles such as the value of Pi,

proved that a sphere has 2/3 the volume and surface area of its’ complementary sphere, and

discovered how to calculate the area under a curve, probably making him the first person to use

integral calculus. During his lifetime, however, Archimedes was much more famous for his

inventions than for his mathematics. He invented the Archimedes screw, a pump that can be used

to remove excess water and for irrigation, and the Archimedes claw, which could be used to pick

up ships then sink them. He also invented a weapon called a burning-glass. He set up mirrors on

the sea shore and when the sun shone on them at the right angle, the reflected beams would set

ships attacking Sicily on fire.

Archimedes died in 212 BC during the Second Punic War when a Roman soldier killed

him against the orders of General Marcus Marcellus. Most of the Greek copies of Archimedes’

work have been lost but we still have many in Latin. Archimedes’ work influenced scientists like

Galileo during the Renaissance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedeshttp://www.cs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/contents.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedeshttp://www.cs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/contents.html