What was archimedes

The Death of Archimedes For two years the genius of Archimedes repelled the Romans, enabling the city to survive the lengthy siege. Nevertheless, in BC the forces of Marcellus prevailed and took the city. Marcellus had great respect for Archimedes, and immediately dispatched soldiers to retrieve his foe. Apparently, the great mathematician was unaware that his enemy had stormed the city, so deeply were his attentions focused on a mathematical problem. When a soldier demanded Archimedes accompany him to the quarters of Marcellus he simply refused, and continued his ruminations.

The enraged soldier flew upon Archimedes, striking the 75 year-old eccentric dead. Marcellus was greatly distressed upon hearing the news of Archimedes' death, and ordered that he be buried with honors.

Archimedes' tombstone was, as he had wished, engraved with an image of a sphere within a cylinder, after one of his geometrical treatises. Despite the many fantastic tales surrounding the life of Archimedes, we are most indebted to him for his mathematical treatises and the contributions he made to the understanding of fundamental physical phenomena.

Through the medium of geometry, he was able to elucidate the principles for such basic devices as the pulley, the fulcrum and the lever — devices still utilized today. Archimedes is also credited with the discovery of the principle of buoyancy, or the power of a fluid to exert an upward force on a body placed in it. His further research into volume and density was fundamental to the development of theories of hydrostatics-the branch of physics dealing with liquids at rest. The story of the survival of Archimedes' treatises down to our own time is intricate and complicated, and has been traced in extraordinary detail.

But an essential point is this: it is through three manuscripts that we know the texts of Archimedes treatises in Greek.

One was last heard of in , a second was last heard of in the s, and the third is The Archimedes Palimpsest, now at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, and the subject of this website. Because this is just the start of a fascinating story. He is also said to have invented the catapult and even a mirror system that focused the sun's rays onto the boats of invaders causing the craft to ignite.

The Archimedes' principle is his best known discovery. This states that a body immersed in fluid loses weight equal to the weight of the amount of fluid it displaces. He is reputed to have made this discovery as he immersed himself in a full tub of water and watched the water overflow. Legend says that he ran down the street naked shouting "Eureka, I have got it! Archimedes was born in Syracuse on the eastern coast of Sicily and educated in Alexandria in Egypt.

He then returned to Syracuse, where he spent most of the rest of his life, devoting his time to research and experimentation in many fields. In mechanics he defined the principle of the lever and is credited with inventing the compound pulley and the hydraulic screw for raising water from a lower to higher level. He is most famous for discovering the law of hydrostatics, sometimes known as 'Archimedes' principle', stating that a body immersed in fluid loses weight equal to the weight of the amount of fluid it displaces.

Archimedes is supposed to have made this discovery when stepping into his bath, causing him to exclaim 'Eureka! During the Roman conquest of Sicily in BC Archimedes worked for the state, and several of his mechanical devices were employed in the defence of Syracuse.