Archimedes

 


Born On: 287 BC
Born In: Syracuse
Nationality: Greek
Died: c. 212 BC (aged around 75)Syracuse
Famous As: Mathematician, Engineer, Inventor, Physicist
Known for :    Archimedes' principle

                        Archimedes' screw

                        hydrostatics

                        levers

                        infinitesimals

Fields:   Mathematics

               Physics

               Engineering

               Astronomy

               Invention


A rchimedes of Syracuse was an outstanding Greek mathematician, inventor, physicist, engineer and also an astronomer. Although not much is known about his life, he is considered as one of the most eminent scientists in classical antiquity. He established strong foundations in the field of physics, particularly in statics, hydrostatics and explained the principle of the lever. In his lifetime, he made many incredible inventions such as designing innovative machines, including screw pumps and siege machines, After intensive experiments, it is concluded that the machines designed by Archimedes are capable of lifting attacking ships out of the water and even setting ships on fire using an array of mirrors. Undoubtedly, Archimedes is considered the greatest scientist and mathematician of ancient times. He applied the 'method of exhaustion' in calculating the area under the arc of a parabola with the summation of an endless series and gave a marvelously precise approximation of pi, the symbol. He also identified the spiral that bears his name, designed formulae for the volumes of surfaces of revolution and also invented a technique for expressing extremely large numbers.

                     
Famous Discoveries And Inventions


Archimedes' Principle

The most popular tale about Archimedes is regarding how he discovered a method for calculating the volume of objects with irregular shape. According to Vitruvius, a crown for a temple had been made for King Hiero II, who had supplied the pure gold to be used and Archimedes was asked to verify whether any silver had been used by the deceitful goldsmith. Archimedes was expected to solve the problem without damaging the crown and thus the option of melting it down into a regular shape was ruled out. One day, while taking a bath, he discerned that the level of the water in the tub increased as he got in, and comprehended that this effect could be used to determine the volume of the crown. As water is incompressible practically, so the crown after submerging would displace an amount of water equal to its own density and it would be possible to calculate the density of the crown if mass of the crown was divided by the volume of water displaced. Archimedes was so excited that he ran on the streets naked (he forgot to dress up), crying out ‘Eureka!’ meaning ’I have found it!’ The test was conducted successfully, concluding that silver had certainly been mixed with the gold.


Archimedes' Screw

Archimedes analyzed the requirements in his home city of Syracuse and tried to make inventions useful for the people at large. The Greek writer Athenaeus of Naucratis had mentioned how King Hiero II instructed Archimedes to devise a gigantic ship, the ‘Syracusia’, which could be used to travel lavishly with supplies as well as can double up as a naval warship. Thus, Syracusia is known to be the largest ship built in olden days. Athenaeus had claimed that the ship was competent of carrying 600 people and consisted of attractions such as garden decorations, a fitness center and a temple dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite, to name a few. Archimedes invented a screw to remove the bilge water to prevent the massive ship from leaking a substantial amount of water through the hull. Archimedes' screw could be described as a device with a spinning screw-shaped blade inside a cylinder. It was turned manually and could also be used to relocate water from a low-lying water body into irrigation canals. The Archimedes screw is still used to propel liquids as well as solids like grain and coal.

Claw Of Archimedes

The Claw of Archimedes is a weapon that he devised in order to guard the city of Syracuse. The claw is also referred to as "the ship shaker," and comprised of a crane-like arm from which a large metal-grasping hook was hung. When the claw was plunged onto an attacking ship, the arm would swing upwards, lifting the ship out of the water and perhaps even sinking it. Contemporary experiments have been done to examine the practicality of the weapon and, in 2005, a television documentary ‘Superweapons of the Ancient World’ constructed a form of the claw and declared that it was an effective device.

Heat Rays

Lucian, the 2nd century AD author, scripted that during the Siege of Syracuse (c. 214–212 BC) Archimedes shattered enemy ships with fire! After many years, Anthemius of Tralles wrote about burning-glasses as Archimedes' weapon. The device, also known as the ‘Archimedes heat ray’, was used to direct sunlight onto approaching ships, causing them to catch fire. Even a Greek scientist ‘Ioannis Sakkas’, conducted a test of the Archimedes heat ray in 1973. During this experiment, 70 mirrors were used, each coated with copper and about five by three feet (1.5X1 m) in size. The mirrors were faced at a plywood replica of a Roman warship, 160 feet (50m) far. When the mirrors were focused precisely, the ship burst into flames in a matter of few seconds.

Mathematics

The genius Archimedes was even capable of using infinitesimals in a manner similar to the modern integral calculus. Through proof by contradiction, he gave answers to problems to a great degree of exactness, while defining the boundaries within which the answer lays. This modus operandi is known as the method of exhaustion, and he employed it to find the approximate value of π. Archimedes also extended his intelligence in the measurement of circles when he gave the value of the square root of 3 as lying around 265⁄153 (approximately 1.7320261) and 1351⁄780 (approximately 1.7320512). The actual value is approximately 1.7320508, making this a very accurate calculation. In ‘The Quadrature of the Parabola’, Archimedes verified that the area encircled by a parabola and a straight line is 4⁄3 times the area of an equivalent inscribed triangle. He expressed the answer to the problem as an infinite geometric series with the common ratio 1⁄4.