Archimedes

Mathematician and physicist — Archimedes (Syracuse, c. 287 – 212 BC) was the greatest mathematician and physicist of classical antiquity, active in the Greek colony of Syracuse. He laid the foundations of hydrostatics by stating the principle of buoyancy on bodies immersed in fluids, and formulated the law of the lever, understanding the role of the centre of mass and the balance of moments. In mathematics he calculated areas and volumes with methods that anticipate integral calculus and obtained an excellent approximation of π. He was also a brilliant inventor, devising war machines, the hydraulic screw for lifting water, and systems of levers and pulleys. His work influenced science for more than two millennia.

Trivia

According to tradition, while taking a bath he grasped the principle of hydrostatic buoyancy and ran naked through the streets shouting ‘Eureka!’ (‘I have found it!’); he was killed by a Roman soldier during the sack of Syracuse while absorbed in a geometry problem.

Theories and contributions

• Archimedes’ principle — A body immersed in a fluid receives an upward thrust equal to the weight of the displaced fluid: $F_A = \rho_{fluido}\, V\, g$.
• Law of the lever — At equilibrium, the moments of the forces about the fulcrum balance: $F_1 d_1 = F_2 d_2$.
• Measurement of areas and volumes — Using the method of exhaustion he calculated the area of the circle, the volume of the sphere, and approximated $\pi$ between $3\tfrac{10}{71}$ and $3\tfrac{1}{7}$.

Present in chapters

00 02

Linked atoms

2 linked atoms.

00 Grandezze fisiche, stime, equilibrio

• Archimedes’ principle

02 Forze e leggi di Newton

• Forces at a distance and contact forces