Archimedes

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 12th grade November 2001

download word file, 1 pages 0.0

Downloaded 2332 times

ArchimedesArchimedes was a Greek mathematician and inventor. He lived from 287-212 BC in Syracuse, Sicily. He was responsible for some major discoveries. The Archimedes Principle states that the mass of an object immersed in water is equal to the mass of the displaced water. Archimedes is also responsible for finding that the ratio of volume and area between a cylinder and a sphere inscribed in it is 3/2. The Archimedes screw is an inclined plane wrapped around a wedge placed in a tube. Archimedes invented it in Egypt to lift water for irrigation. Archimedes is quoted to have said, "Give me a place to stand and I can move the Earth." He was referring to using a lever and lifting the Earth.

During the Roman conquest of Sicily, Archimedes helped his government defend itself against the Roman fleet. Archimedes is believed to have invented the catapult, which caused devastation on the attacking fleet.

Legend has it that Archimedes also had giant mirrors, which caught the sun and were pointed at the enemy ships then igniting them. He is also rumored to have made the Archimedes Claw, which flips ships and capsizes them using levers and counterweights.

Archimedes was killed doing a geometry problem. When Rome finally captured Syracuse, Archimedes was drawing geometry diagrams in the sand. A Roman soldier found him drawing. Archimedes offended the intruder by just saying that he did not want to be disturbed, and the soldier killed him.

Source: http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/contents.html