“Give me a place to stand, a lever long enough and a fulcrum. and I can move the Earth.”
Known As : Archimedes Of Syracuse
Nationality : Greek
Father : Phidias, an astronomer
Born : c. 287 BC in Syracuse, Sicily, Magna Graecia
Died : c. 212 BC in Syracuse, Sicily, Magna Graecia
Known For : Archimedes’ principle, Archimedes’ screw, Hydrostatics levers etc.
7 Facts About The Ancient Greek Mathematician Archimedes :
1. Gave us the approximation of PI
Archimedes is the greatest mathematician of all time and was really obsessed with his work. In particular, he is known for his works on geometry and the problems of modern integral calculus. Also, Archimedes is the reason we know the value of the number pi.
2. We say “EUREKA!” because Archimedes said it
This word which means “I have found it!” was born from the famous anecdote about Archimedes. According to this story, he took a bath and suddenly noticed that the deeper he submerged his body in the bath, the higher water level became. Excited by this discovery, he ran out to the streets naked, crying “Eureka!”
3. Not only mathematician but also a physicist
Archimedes made a great contribution to hydrostatics by discovering one of its fundamental laws named Archimedes’ principle. Also, he is known for explaining the mechanism of the lever and inventing Archimedes’ screw. “Give me a place to stand, and I will move the Earth” – this famous remark also belongs to Archimedes.
4. Invented a weapon
In order to defend his native city of Syracuse, Archimedes had to demonstrate his talent for engineering and devised the Claw of Archimedes. This weapon can be compared to a big metal arm which could grab enemy’s ship and sink it.
5. Constructed the first planetarium
Archimedes explored the problem of defining the distance from the Earth to the other planets. He constructed the model of the solar system called planetarium which enabled to observe the moving of the planets, the sunrise, the moonrise and the lunar eclipse.
6. According to another legend, was killed while defending his diagrams
There is no precise information about Archimedes’ death, but instead there are plenty of legends. One of them tells that the Roman soldier stepped on his diagram drawn on the sand. Archimedes got angry, and the soldier calmly killed him.
7. Nobody continued his work
Despite Archimedes made a great contribution to a science, in ancient times his impact wasn’t that strong and he didn’t have any adherents. The real influence came in the 16th century. Besides, his ideas were reflected in the work of such famous scientists as Galileo Galilei and René Descartes.
Euclid – Greek Mathematician
