Archimedes Accomplishments

502 Words3 Pages
Who was Archimedes? Archimedes was a Greek Mathematician. He was born around 287 B.C. probably in the town of Syracuse, Italy, and he died I 212 B.C., also in Syracuse. Archimedes invented the “Archimedes Screw” and determined how large pi was, among numerous other accomplishments. Information will be presented on Archimedes' family life, scientific investigations, and how his discoveries are used today. Archimedes was an intriguing man, who harbored many skills. Archimedes was born about 287B.C. to Phidias an astronomer, and it is possible that he was related to the King of Syracuse. It is believed that Archimedes received early schooling in Syracuse, before traveling to Alexandria at an older age for his studies. In Alexandria, Archimedes met Conon and Eratosthenes, who he became…show more content…
Among other things, Archimedes invented the Water Screw, the Archimedes Screw, a machine that irrigated fields, and a mini planetarium (a sphere whose movement simulated the same motion as the Earth, Sun, Moon, and the five other planets that were known to man during that time period). Archimedes also calculated the volume of a sphere, and determined that pi was between 3 1/7 and 3 10/71! It is evident that Archimedes sometimes had to much time on his hands, for he also figured out that the amount of sand that could fit into a sphere the size of the universe is less than 10^51. A famous story depicts Archimedes discovering how to resolve a problem that the king had asked him to consider, and, upon making this breakthrough, being so overjoyed that he jumped out of the tub and ran through the streets naked, yelling, “Heureka, heureka!” meaning “I have discovered it.”. Another narrative tells of Archimedes astonishing the king by using a mechanical device to launch a boat that was too ponderous for anyone else to launch. Archimedes was known throughout his life, for his numerous

More about Archimedes Accomplishments

Open Document