People have been aware of objects floating on water or sinking since before recorded history. It was not until Archimedes of Syracuse came along, that the theory of flotation and the buoyancy principle were defined. Archimedes was born at Syracuse on the island of Sicily in 287 BC. His father, Phidias, is thought to have been an astronomer who discovered the size and distances of the sun and moon. Archimedes might have been related to King Hieron the second, King Hieron definitely favored Archimedes as his first philosopher. As a young boy, Archimedes developed a life-long interest in the study of the heavens. As a teen he traveled to Egypt where he studied at the great Library of Alexandria, possibly under the followers of Euclid.
Archimedes is often described as being absentminded, self-absorbed, and somewhat eccentric. Despite these personal attributes, he was recognized in his own time as a genius, and is revered today as one of the greatest figures in the history of science and mathematics. It is not known if Archimedes did marry or if he had any kids, Archimedes' first love was always mathematics. He is also known today to have been an experimental physicist, legendary philosopher, artistic engineer and a wise inventor. He would often spend days so intently fixed on solving a problem that he neglected both food and himself to a point that his friends would carry him kicking and fighting to the bath. He often stooped to the ground to work mathematical problems by drawing figures in the dirt. He is even said to have carried a small wooden tray filled with sand, which he used to draw his figures and work on his mathematical problems. You might think of this tray as our modern day lap-top or another recording device. Of course,...
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... felt guilty to be so stupid to have send a soldier to get Archimedes from his studies. In his triumph he provided Archimedes with an honorable burial and befriended his dead relative.
On Archimedes grave stone there is an inscription of Pi, I think his most famous discovery. Finally a sphere with a cylinder and the 2:3 ratio of the volumes (the solution to the problem), which he took pride as his greatest achievement.
Finally, Archimedes lived from 287B.C to 212 B.C, spending most of his life in his home land. Not much is known about his childhood or about him growing up but without him or modern world wouldn't be the same. Thanks to him we have improved inventions and theories and/or formulas. Such as, the determination of circular area, he approximated more precisely than anyone to date, near development of the Calculus, Quadrature of the parabola, and many more.
One of the most well known contributors to math from Greece would be Archimedes. He
Perhaps one of the greatest accomplishments of the 3rd century was made by Eratosthenes, who calculated the circumference of the earth within 300 miles of its actual distance. Also, the Alexandrians made great leaps forward in the field of medicine. Hippocrates, who is regarded as the father of modern medicine wrote 53 books on medicine. Later, Herophilus became the first to dissect a human corpse and document in great detail the inside of a human body. Furthermore, he and almost all Egyptian, Greek, and Roman doctors put great stress on the importance of hygiene, diet, exercise and bathing, which are still some of the foundations of modern health. However, the greatest overall advancements that the Alexandrians made great were technological advancements. One man who helped move technology of the ancient world forward the most was Hero, who invented the water clock and the steam turbine. Some of the inventions created by the Alexandrians are still used today, such as levers, pulleys, pumps, screws, springs, and
Despite the use of Archimedes’ inventions, Syracuse was captured during the Second Punic war. A Roman soldier who found him drawing a mathematical diagram in the sand killed Archimedes. It is said that Archimedes was so preoccupied in his calculation that he simply said to the intruder, "Do not disturb my diagrams."
in 212 B.C. at the age of 75 in Syracuse. It is said that he was killed
A little info: Archimedes was a Greek Mathematician who was born in 287 BC and died in 212 BC. He was born in Syracuse, Sicily; during this time, the city was an independent Greek city-state which held a 500-year history. At the Siege of Syracuse Romans at the siege were specifically ordered not to harm Archimedes but he later was pronounced dead by being stabbed by a Roman soldier. His father (Phidias) was an astronomer and is believed to be related to the King of Syracuse. This information was found in his work “The Sand Reckoner.” Archimedes was labeled as one of the top scientists in classical antiquity. In those times, when blackboards and paper were not yet around, Archimedes constructed ashes, dust or all any available surface to help sketch his geometric figures. It’s been told that he used to get so intrigued with all of the work he did that sometimes he forgot to eat, skipped a meal or two just to finish on the project. He was considered the greatest mathematician in antiquity and possibly the greatest of all time.
... the medial of the second century, his concept that every celestial motion is uniform and circular around the object in the center endured until the 17th century astronomer Johannes Kepler was around. If Eudoxus had not done the work that he did, the astronomers and mathematicians that came around after him might not have become the mathematicians and astronomers that they were. Eudoxus completed many great things and without his contributions math and science would not have developed as they did. He set the stage for many great mathematicians and astronomers to create new laws and theories that furthered our comprehension of math and our solar system. Eudoxus was one of the greatest mathematicians and astronomers our world has ever known, yet not many know of his name or recognize him as the brilliant man he was. He is deserving of everyones attention and respect.
Euclid Of Alexandria may be the best-known mathematician of the world, he is best known for his work on mathematics The Elements. The fact that his work has survived so long, 2000 years in fact, is a tribute to his mathematical genius, however very little of him is known. Three theories abound as to the true nature of this historical figure. Not all historians agree that Euclid was in fact a historical figure, some argue that the school in Alexandria took up the name Euclid to publish their works. But the more accepted theories are that Euclid was in fact a real historical figure who may have been the leader of a team of mathematicians.
Archimedes discovered many theorems in mechanics. His most famous one was named after him, ‘Archimedes’ Principle’, it gives the weight of a body immersed in a liquid. Archimedes, in this theorem stated that ‘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
Archimedes inventions show just how much of a genius he really was but some of what he did has been extremely exaggerated, "Of the many exaggerated tales of his skill one mentions a giant mirror that he used to set enemy ships on fire. Another tells of how he made a crane to pull ships out of the water and these were just a few of many inventions" ("Archimedes and the Simple Machines That Moved the World”). because the stories of his skills have been exaggerated that means that they were passed from mouth to mouth which shows that many people talked about him. One of the famous inventions of Archimedes was the screw pump Some historians will argue that Archimedes didn’t invent the screw pump, but rather saw an example of it in Egypt. That is irrelevant because he was the one who developed a practical
Hippocrates taught in Athens and worked on squaring the circle and also worked on duplicating the cube. He grew far in these areas and although his work is not lost, it must have contained much of what Euclid later included in Books One and Two of the Elements.
Eratosthenes was a Greek mathematician, geographer, and astronomer. He was the first person to calculate the circumference of the Earth and the tilt of the Earth.
Geometry, a cornerstone in modern civilization, also had its beginnings in Ancient Greece. Euclid, a mathematician, formed many geometric proofs and theories [Document 5]. He also came to one of the most significant discoveries of math, Pi. This number showed the ratio between the diameter and circumference of a circle.
Euclid and Archimedes are two of the most important scientists and mathematicians of all time. Their achievements and discoveries play a pivotal role in today’s mathematics and sciences. A lot of the very basic principles and core subjects of mathematics, physics, engineering, inventing, and astronomy came from the innovations, inventions, and discoveries that were made by both Euclid and Archimedes.
Historically speaking, ancient inventors of Greek origin, mathematicians such as Archimedes of Syracuse, and Antiphon the Sophist, were the first to discover the basic elements that translated into what we now understand and have formed into the mathematical branch called calculus. Archimedes used infinite sequences of triangular areas to calculate the area of a parabolic segment, as an example of summation of an infinite series. He also used the Method of Exhaustion, invented by Antiphon, to approximate the area of a circle, as an example of early integration.