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Who was archimedes12/14/2022 ![]() ![]() Those caught in such a trap were then dropped back into the sea from a great height.Īrchimedes was also rumoured to have invented large mirrors (known as ‘death rays’) which were able to reflect sunlight and cause the Roman ships to catch fire. WHO WAS ARCHIMEDES SERIESUsing his understanding of levers and pulleys, Archimedes developed a series of catapults that were capable of hurling heavy rocks at the Roman ships.Įven the ships that reached the city wall were struck down, for Archimedes had created a large iron hook which was able to lift the Roman ships from the water via a giant lever. ![]() The Romans attacked with a full-frontal assault from the land and the sea and soon felt the wrath of the city’s defences. Though they didn’t expect the invasion to be easy, they certainly weren’t prepared for Archimedes’ weapons of war. 250 BCE ( Wikimedia Commons) Weapons of Warĭuring the Second Punic War (218–201 BCE), the Romans - led by a man named Marcellus - attempted to capture the city of Syracuse. In short, he was able to explain why a block of wood floats in water but a block of steel with the same weight would sink.Ī page from On Floating Bodies by Archimedes, c. He realised that by using a lever, a person who wasn’t particularly strong would be able to raise a heavy object, such as a boulder or a log.Īrchimedes also understood the physics of buoyancy, which is now known as the ‘Archimedes’ principle’. By understanding the law of the lever, Archimedes was able to calculate how much force was needed to balance or move a certain weight. He became known for his ingenious developments with pulleys and levers. What’s more, Archimedes was able to turn his mathematical brain to physics. He named this constant after the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet: π ( pi). And with this talent, he devised his own method for calculating the surface of spheres and cylinders, and - most famously of all - he came up with a way of measuring the area of a circle using a mathematical constant. Having returned to Syracuse, he made revolutionary mathematical discoveries which are still used today. Like all those who go down in history, Archimedes was a pioneer. 1886 ( Wikimedia Commons) Mathematical Genius The city was a centre of learning and is considered by many to be the greatest city of the ancient world.Įngraving of Alexandria’s famous library by O. Though historians cannot offer a precise date, they are certain Archimedes travelled to Alexandria when he was a young man. Reading, writing, mathematics, music, and geography would have been the core of his childhood education. Like other Greek boys, Archimedes would have started his formal education at the age of eight. But historians have managed to piece together parts of his life using ancient sources.Īrchimedes was born in the third century BCE in Syracuse, a city on the island of Sicily with a reputation for architectural beauty and economic prosperity. Little is known about Archimedes beyond his mathematical and scientific endeavours. Yet, the details of this man’s monumental achievements aren’t common knowledge. ![]() Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and many others all belong to this fascinating and vast era of history.Īrchimedes is probably a name you’re familiar with given many regard him as the greatest mathematician of ancient times. ![]() Some of humanity’s most influential thinkers come from the ancient world. 1620 ( Wikimedia Commons - image resized by author) Painting of Archimedes by Domenico Fetti, c. ![]()
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