Archimedes inventions

NOVA | Infinite Secrets | Library Resource Kit | Who Was Archimedes? | PBS Who Was Archimedes? Archimedes of Syracuse was one of the greatest mathematicians in history. He was also a great inventor and scientist. Most of what we know about Archimedes today comes from his writings and those of his contemporaries. Born in Syracuse, Sicily (then part of Greece), in about 287 B.C., Archimedes traveled to Egypt at the age of 18 to study at the great library of Alexandria. Upon completing his studies, he returned to Syracuse, where he spent the remainder of his life. Archimedes was obsessed with mathematics. He would become so involved in his work that he would forget to eat. He scribbled notes and figures on any available surface. When outside, he used a stick to draw on the ground; when inside, he used his finger to trace figures in the olive oil on his skin. Out of this obsession came many of his greatest theories and proofs, such as the means for approximating square roots, the value of pi (the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter), and the creation of a way to describe very large numbers. He also devised methods for calculating areas and volumes 2,000 years before the invention of calculus. In addition, Archimedes proved that the volume of a sphere is two-thirds the volume of a circumscribed cylinder. He considered this proof his greatest accomplishment and even requested that a representation of a sphere inside a cylinder be inscribed on his tomb. Archimedes w...

Archimedes and the Simple Machines That Moved the World Overview "Give me a place to stand," Archimedes is said to have promised, "and I will move the world." In this perhaps apocryphal quote, the Greek mathematician, scientist, and inventor was discussing the principle of the lever and fulcrum, but he could very well have been describing his whole career. In addition to his mathematical studies and his work on buoyancy, Archimedes contributed to knowledge concerning at least three of the five simple machines—winch, pulley, lever, wedge, and screw—known to antiquity. His studies greatly enhanced knowledge concerning the way things work, and his practical applications remain vital today; thus he is aptly named the "father of experimental science." Background Born in the Greek town of Syracuse in Sicily, Archimedes (287?-212 b.c.) was related to one of that city's kings, Hieron II (308?-216 b.c.). Son of an astronomer named Phidias, he went to Alexandria in around 250 b.c. to study under Conon and other mathematicians who had been disciples of Euclid (330?-260? b.c.). He later returned to his hometown, where he lived the remainder of his life. Though he contributed greatly to understanding of the lever, screw, and pulley, Archimedes did not invent any of these machines. Of these three, the lever is perhaps the oldest, having been used in some form for centuries prior to his writings on the subject. Actually, the more proper name for this simple machine is "lever and fulcrum,...

Quick Info Born 287 BC Died 212 BC Syracuse, Sicily (now Italy) Summary Archimedes was the greatest mathematician of his age. His contributions in geometry revolutionised the subject and his methods anticipated the integral calculus. He was a practical man who invented a wide variety of machines including pulleys and the Archimidean screw pumping device. Biography Archimedes' father was Phidias, an astronomer. We know nothing else about Phidias other than this one fact and we only know this since Archimedes gives us this information in one of his works, The Sandreckoner. A friend of Archimedes called Heracleides wrote a biography of him but sadly this work is lost. How our knowledge of Archimedes would be transformed if this lost work were ever found, or even extracts found in the writing of others. Archimedes was a native of Syracuse, Sicily. It is reported by some authors that he visited Egypt and there invented a device now known as In the preface to On spirals Archimedes relates an amusing story regarding his friends in Alexandria. He tells us that he was in the habit of sending them statements of his latest theorems, but without giving proofs. Apparently some of the mathematicians there had claimed the results as their own so Archimedes says that on the last occasion when he sent them theorems he included two which were false [ 3 ]:- ... so that those who claim to discover everything, but produce no proofs of the same, may be confuted as having pretended to discover t...

Archimedes, a Greek who lived in the Sicilian port of Syracuse in the third century BC, was an ingenious inventor, best known for shouting “Eureka!” after inspiration struck. When Archimedes’ hometown was attacked by the Roman army and navy in 215 BC, the old inventor designed a number of war machines to fight back. Archimedes’ devices at the siege of Syracuse soon became legendary, and were chronicled by later historians Polybius, Livy, and Plutarch. How Archimedes Defended the Walls of Syracuse According to the historians, the Romans at Syracuse were repelled by a wide variety of clever devices. Archimedes had prepared large catapults for flinging stones of several hundred pounds to repel the attackers from a distance, and smaller, short-range engines for when they managed to get closer. Into the walls Archimedes had cut a number of arrow-loops through which archers and “small scorpions,” small missile-engines possibly like crude crossbows, shot at the Romans. Moreover, Archimedes had built contraptions into the walls themselves: these were great beams that would remain hidden until swinging out over the top of the walls and dropping heavy stones or grappling hooks onto any attackers that got too close. Archimedes Destroys Roman Ships The deluge of missiles from the city’s catapults also kept Roman ships at bay. But even when the Romans tried to sneak their ships to the city walls at night, shots from the arrow-loops decimated the sailors, while stones dropped from the w...

Archimedes, a Greek who lived in the Sicilian port of Syracuse in the third century BC, was an ingenious inventor, best known for shouting “Eureka!” after inspiration struck. When Archimedes’ hometown was attacked by the Roman army and navy in 215 BC, the old inventor designed a number of war machines to fight back. Archimedes’ devices at the siege of Syracuse soon became legendary, and were chronicled by later historians Polybius, Livy, and Plutarch. How Archimedes Defended the Walls of Syracuse According to the historians, the Romans at Syracuse were repelled by a wide variety of clever devices. Archimedes had prepared large catapults for flinging stones of several hundred pounds to repel the attackers from a distance, and smaller, short-range engines for when they managed to get closer. Into the walls Archimedes had cut a number of arrow-loops through which archers and “small scorpions,” small missile-engines possibly like crude crossbows, shot at the Romans. Moreover, Archimedes had built contraptions into the walls themselves: these were great beams that would remain hidden until swinging out over the top of the walls and dropping heavy stones or grappling hooks onto any attackers that got too close. Archimedes Destroys Roman Ships The deluge of missiles from the city’s catapults also kept Roman ships at bay. But even when the Romans tried to sneak their ships to the city walls at night, shots from the arrow-loops decimated the sailors, while stones dropped from the w...

Quick Info Born 287 BC Died 212 BC Syracuse, Sicily (now Italy) Summary Archimedes was the greatest mathematician of his age. His contributions in geometry revolutionised the subject and his methods anticipated the integral calculus. He was a practical man who invented a wide variety of machines including pulleys and the Archimidean screw pumping device. Biography Archimedes' father was Phidias, an astronomer. We know nothing else about Phidias other than this one fact and we only know this since Archimedes gives us this information in one of his works, The Sandreckoner. A friend of Archimedes called Heracleides wrote a biography of him but sadly this work is lost. How our knowledge of Archimedes would be transformed if this lost work were ever found, or even extracts found in the writing of others. Archimedes was a native of Syracuse, Sicily. It is reported by some authors that he visited Egypt and there invented a device now known as In the preface to On spirals Archimedes relates an amusing story regarding his friends in Alexandria. He tells us that he was in the habit of sending them statements of his latest theorems, but without giving proofs. Apparently some of the mathematicians there had claimed the results as their own so Archimedes says that on the last occasion when he sent them theorems he included two which were false [ 3 ]:- ... so that those who claim to discover everything, but produce no proofs of the same, may be confuted as having pretended to discover t...

NOVA | Infinite Secrets | Library Resource Kit | Who Was Archimedes? | PBS Who Was Archimedes? Archimedes of Syracuse was one of the greatest mathematicians in history. He was also a great inventor and scientist. Most of what we know about Archimedes today comes from his writings and those of his contemporaries. Born in Syracuse, Sicily (then part of Greece), in about 287 B.C., Archimedes traveled to Egypt at the age of 18 to study at the great library of Alexandria. Upon completing his studies, he returned to Syracuse, where he spent the remainder of his life. Archimedes was obsessed with mathematics. He would become so involved in his work that he would forget to eat. He scribbled notes and figures on any available surface. When outside, he used a stick to draw on the ground; when inside, he used his finger to trace figures in the olive oil on his skin. Out of this obsession came many of his greatest theories and proofs, such as the means for approximating square roots, the value of pi (the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter), and the creation of a way to describe very large numbers. He also devised methods for calculating areas and volumes 2,000 years before the invention of calculus. In addition, Archimedes proved that the volume of a sphere is two-thirds the volume of a circumscribed cylinder. He considered this proof his greatest accomplishment and even requested that a representation of a sphere inside a cylinder be inscribed on his tomb. Archimedes w...

Archimedes and the Simple Machines That Moved the World Overview "Give me a place to stand," Archimedes is said to have promised, "and I will move the world." In this perhaps apocryphal quote, the Greek mathematician, scientist, and inventor was discussing the principle of the lever and fulcrum, but he could very well have been describing his whole career. In addition to his mathematical studies and his work on buoyancy, Archimedes contributed to knowledge concerning at least three of the five simple machines—winch, pulley, lever, wedge, and screw—known to antiquity. His studies greatly enhanced knowledge concerning the way things work, and his practical applications remain vital today; thus he is aptly named the "father of experimental science." Background Born in the Greek town of Syracuse in Sicily, Archimedes (287?-212 b.c.) was related to one of that city's kings, Hieron II (308?-216 b.c.). Son of an astronomer named Phidias, he went to Alexandria in around 250 b.c. to study under Conon and other mathematicians who had been disciples of Euclid (330?-260? b.c.). He later returned to his hometown, where he lived the remainder of his life. Though he contributed greatly to understanding of the lever, screw, and pulley, Archimedes did not invent any of these machines. Of these three, the lever is perhaps the oldest, having been used in some form for centuries prior to his writings on the subject. Actually, the more proper name for this simple machine is "lever and fulcrum,...