Archimedes

(ärkĭmē´dēz) , 287—212 , Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor. He is famous

for his work in geometry (on the circle, sphere, cylinder, and parabola), physics,
mechanics, and hydrostatics. He lived most of his life in his native Syracuse, where he
was on intimate terms with the royal family. Few facts of his life are known, but tradition
has made at least two stories famous. In one story, he was asked by Hiero II to determine
whether a crown was pure gold or was alloyed with silver. Archimedes was perplexed,
until one day, observing the overflow of water in his bath, he suddenly realized that since
gold is more dense (i.e., has more weight per volume) than silver, a given weight of gold
represents a smaller volume than an equal weight of silver and that a given weight of gold
would therefore displace less water than an equal weight of silver. Delighted at his
discovery, he ran home without his clothes, shouting "Eureka," which means "I have
found it." He found that Hiero's crown displaced more water than an equal weight of
gold, thus showing that the crown had been alloyed with silver (or another metal less
dense than gold). In the other story he is said to have told Hiero, in illustration of the
principle of the lever, "Give me a place to stand, and I will move the world." He invented
machines of war (Second Punic War) so ingenious that the besieging armies of Marcus
Claudius Marcellus were held off from Syracuse for three years. When the city was
taken, the general gave orders to spare the scientist, but Archimedes was killed. Nine of
Archimedes' treatises, which demonstrate his discoveries in mathematics and in floating
bodies, are extant. They are On the Sphere and Cylinder, On the Measurement of the
Circle, On the Equilibrium of Planes, On Conoids and Spheroids, On Spirals, On the
Quadrature of the Parabola, Arenarius [or sand-reckoner], On Floating Bodies, and On
the Method of Mechanical Theorems. Archimedes' many contributions to mathematics
and mechanics include calculating the value of π, devising a mathematical exponential
system to express extremely large numbers (he said he could numerically represent the
grains of sand that would be needed to fill the universe), developing Archimedes'
principle, and inventing Archimedes' screw.
Archimedes' principle
Principle that states that a body immersed in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the
weight of the displaced fluid. The principle applies to both floating and submerged bodies
and to all fluids, i.e., liquids and gases. It explains not only the buoyancy of ships and
other vessels in water but also the rise of a balloon in the air and the apparent loss of
weight of objects underwater. In determining whether a given body will float in a given
fluid, both weight and volume must be considered; that is, the relative density, or weight
per unit of volume, of the body compared to the fluid determines the buoyant force. If the
body is less dense than the fluid, it will float or, in the case of a balloon, it will rise. If the
body is denser than the fluid, it will sink. Relative density also determines the proportion
of a floating body that will be submerged in a fluid. If the body is two thirds as dense as
the fluid, then two thirds of its volume will be submerged, displacing in the process a
volume of fluid whose weight is equal to the entire weight of the body. In the case of a
submerged body, the apparent weight of the body is equal to its weight in air less the
weight of an equal volume of fluid. The fluid most often encountered in applications of
Archimedes' principle is water, and the specific gravity of a substance is a convenient
measure of its relative density compared to water. In calculating the buoyant force on a
body, however, one must also take into account the shape and position of the body. A
steel rowboat placed on end into the water will sink because the density of steel is much
greater than that of water. However, in its normal, keel-down position, the effective
volume of the boat includes all the air inside it, so that its average density is then less
than that of water, and as a result it will float.