Archimedes of Syracuse

Micah G. Conner
Physics 1010-300-SP18
 Beginning his eventful and productive life in 287 B.C. Archimedes was thrust into a
Greek culture that would help cultivate his lifelong pursuit of the mathematical relation to the
physical world. His early days would be spent under the influence of Greek scientific interests
and developing culture. His father would also play a huge part in developing his son’s love of the
physical world. Although much isn’t known about Archimedes life, he does mention his father
Phidias a Greek astronomer. He was a resident of Syracuse, Italy for much of his life, other than
being educated in Alexandria in Egypt. His obsession with mathematics, engineering, weapon
development and physics would forever change the very world we live in.

One of the many great accomplishments for which Archimedes doesn’t receive much
credit is mathematics. The Greeks of the time were fascinated with the beauty and logic involved
with geometry but not the practicality. Archimedes was an extremely gifted mathematical mind
considering the period. His development and methods that would touch the invention of integral
calculus were formed 2,000 years before Isaac Newton developed integral calculus. Archimedes
developed many equations and geometric calculations that are still used today. When you
calculate the area or circumference of a circle, you can thank Archimedes and his tremendous
mind for the calculation of 3.14159265358979 commonly known as “pi.” Archimedes greatest
achievement in mathematics and quite possibly anything and everything he was involved in is
referred to as “the sphere within the cylinder.” Archimedes as previously mentioned was
incredibly close to inventing integral calculus before Newton. He did this by calculating the
volume of a sphere. This was an incredibly daunting task. Obviously, there weren’t any
computers or software to create and map 3D images. Archimedes didn’t rely on anything other
than his own mind. He imagined cutting a sphere into two halves creating hemispheres. This
would give him two flat surfaces to work with rather than doing calculations of an entire curved
surface. He then imagined the hemisphere was flat side down on a flat surface and encompassing
that, a cylinder. This would make the circle of the cylinder would be equal to the bottom of the
hemisphere, as well as the height of both being equal. This is where his beautiful and clever mind
comes into play, Archimedes imagined cutting thin slices through the cylinder. This also is what
delves into integral calculus before it was discovered. With each slice the size of the inner circle
increased, while the size of the outside circle stayed the same. The gap between the two circles in
each slice interested him greatly. He could calculate the volume of the gaps and they added up to
the same volume as a cone, which so happens to have the same base height and radius as the
cylinder. This led to his discovery that the volume of the hemisphere is equal to the volume of
the cylinder minus the volume of the cone. It’s amazing how deeply this man could think and
ponder on a problem. Often, he would go without eating, or when bathing he would still be
working on a geometric drawing. His capacity to take in the world around him and ask simple
questions is a blessing we all benefit from.

The development of hydrostatics is commonly told by using one word “Eureka!” When
King Hiero wanted, a beautiful crown made he commissioned a local goldsmith to fashion the
commemorative piece shaped like a laurel wreath. Hiero weighed out a hefty portion of gold for
the crown and upon delivery it felt as it should, so Hiero paid the man. After hearing rumors of
the goldsmith cheating him by mixing silver with the gold before the crown was supposed to be
unveiled in a temple of Hiero’s choice, the king faced a tremendous problem. There was only one
man who could figure it out, and his name was Archimedes who was also his cousin. Archimedes
pondered on the issue and walked into a public bath to freshen his mind. As he plopped into the
water he noticed something. Archimedes noticed that as he submerged in the water he also
displaced it and it went over the sides of the bath. He had found the solution! Archimedes was so
excited that he immediately left the bath house naked and shouted “Eureka!” “Eureka!” Which in
Greek translates to “I have found it!” “I have found it!” What Archimedes discovered was a way
of measuring the volume of an irregularly shaped objects. By taking a lump of gold equal in
weight to the crown and a lump of silver, Archimedes lowered them both into a vessel of water.
The water would displace and he could calculate the volume with the water that was left in the
vessel. He could then put the crown into the vessel and verify if it displaced the same amount of
water and the pure gold lump. He concluded that the goldsmith had in fact used silver or other
material to make the crown. Although this is just a story and hasn’t been discovered in any of
Archimedes actual writings it is still possible that it happened. The story was told about 200
years later, in the writings of a Roman architect named Marcus Vitruvius Pollo. With the
brilliance of Archimedes, it doesn’t sound as if it were impossible. This man and his ability to
think in abstract ways is the single biggest reason why he is still relevant in today’s scientific
community. He was the Einstein of antiquity and we can’t confirm that all his work survived. He
could quite possibly have other discoveries that would pre-date recent ones. It’s baffling to think
of the things a man like this could achieve with modern technology. The developments we could
have today if simple record keeping or ways to store data, scrolls, journals, and projects would
have been in practice thousands of years we would be so much more advanced.

Well known for his many contributions to physics, engineering and mathematics,
Archimedes was also known and feared for his war machines. Many of his war machines
defended Syracuse and killed large numbers of Romans in the siege of 214 B.C. He used his
brilliant understanding of math and physics to create all his machines. To capsize Roman ships,
he developed a giant claw. After pelting the ship's bow with giant stones to drive them back, a
giant claw would be lowered down. This took a tremendous amount of strength! It would attach
to the ship and then a giant lever would be pressed down. The ship would be lifted out of the
water and often capsized after being loosened. Harnessing the power of the sun, Archimedes
developed the death ray. Utilizing multiple mirrors, all concentrated on the same light path to
burn Roman ships. Of course, I must mention the trebuchet catapults that Archimedes designed
and built for the defense of Syracuse. These war machines hurled large timber and stone toward
Roman ships from a great distance. Archimedes achieved this by using a weighted beam and a
sling system that could travel in a large arc pattern. These machines defended his hometown for
many years until the Second Punic War in 212 B.C. The city of Syracuse fell to the Romans and
at the age of 75 Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier while working on a dust drawing of
circles, when he refused to leave his work the Roman soldier murdered him. “Don’t disturb my
circles!” were his last words.

His legacy and impact on the physical world, mathematics, engineering and inventing are
still relevant today. Many of his discoveries were groundbreaking and can still be found today.
His work, life and genius are something that will forever boggle the minds of scientists,
engineers and mathematicians. It’s amazing how like Einstein and Galileo, this man could sit and
think and think until he came up with a solution. Or even ask a question that hadn’t been
answered yet. He was so far ahead of his time that he often played with other mathematicians of
his period. He would give them the calculation but not describe the steps he took to get there. He
wanted to test them to see if they truly understood his brilliance. That is one of the issues we face
deciphering some of texts that he left behind. He often didn’t write down everything to include
certain steps. I hope in the future we discover more of his great works. It would be fascinating to
see a complete work that will stand the test of time and prove once again that Archimedes is one
of the greatest minds this world has ever seen!
 Bibliography
References:

1. Project, The Archimedes Palimpsest. "The Archimedes Palimpsest." The History of

Archimedes. N.p., n.d. Retrieved from
http://archimedespalimpsest.org/about/history/archimedes.php

2. Allen, Don (1997, February 19). Archimedes of Syracuse. Retrieved from

http://www.math.tamu.edu/~dallen/history/archimed/archimed.html

3. Stewart, Doug (2017). Archimedes Makes his Greatest Discovery. Retrieved from
https://www.famousscientists.org/archimedes-makes-his-greatest-discovery/

4. Chowdhury, Rohini (2002). ‘Eureka!’ – The Story of Archimedes and the Golden Crown
Retrieved from http://www.longlongtimeago.com/once-upon-a-time/great-
discoveries/eureka-the-story-of-archimedes-and-the-golden-crown/

5. Barrington, Katherine (2012, August 2). Archimedes' War Machines. Retrieved from
http://www.brighthubeducation.com/history-homework-help/93105-archimedes-war-
machines/