Archimedes - Biography, Theories and Inventions (2024)

Archimedes was perhaps one of the most outstanding scientists in the world. Indeed, a supreme scientist of the classical age, Archimedes was a mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, weapons designer, and inventor. Archimedes is one of the great thinkers in history. He was wise in philosophy, active in mathematics and physics and was also recognized as one of the finest engineers of his time. Through historical accounts of his uncountable inventions and discoveries, he left his legacy 2000 years ago.

Table of Contents

• About Archimedes
• Archimedes’ Greatest Achievements
• Archimedes’ Principle
• Archimedes’ Screw
• The Odometer
• Archimedes’ Law of Lever
• Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

About Archimedes

Archimedes was born in C. 287 BCE, in Syracuse, Sicily (Italy), and is regarded as the most well-known mathematician and inventor in ancient Greece. Archimedes will always be remembered for his significant discovery; that is, he successfully determined the relation between the surface and volume of a sphere and its circ*mscribing cylinder. Archimedes also formulated the hydrostatic principle known as Archimedes’ Principle, which states that an upward force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced, is acted on a body when placed in a liquid. And also, Archimedes invented a screw for raising water which is still considered the most important invention.

Also, Archimedes studied different aspects of the lever and pulley. A lever is a kind of elementary machine in which a bar is used to move or raise a weight, while a pulley uses a rope, wheel or chain to lift loads. He also discovered the law of buoyancy.

Archimedes Greatest Achievements

Some of the most outstanding achievements of Archimedes are listed below –

• Archimedes invented the crucial sciences of mechanics and hydrostatics.
• Archimedes created one of the essential physics concepts that is the centre of gravity.
• He discovered the laws of levers and pulleys that allow moving heavy objects using small forces.
• Archimedes calculated the most precise value of pi. The fraction 22⁄7 was his upper limit of pi; this value is still in use.
• Archimedes also discovered mathematically verified formulas for the volume and surface area of a sphere.
• How exponents could be used to write more significant numbers was shown by Archimedes.

Archimedes’ Principle

Archimedes was the one who discovered the principle of buoyancy, also known as Archimedes’ Principle, which states that an upward or buoyant force is acted upon a body upwards when it is wholly or partially submerged in a fluid at rest and that the magnitude of this force is equivalent to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body.

The story behind it is that the King assigned Archimedes a task to figure out whether the crown made for him was pure gold or it contained some other metals too; this caused him to discover the famous Archimedes’ principle. He took a lump of gold weighing the same as the gold crown, and regardless of their shapes, these two objects should displace the same amount of water. The crown would replace more water if the goldsmith who made the crown substituted any gold with a cheaper metal.

Concept visualised | Archimedes’ principle – Mechanical Properties of Fluids | Concept visualised | Archimedes’ principle | NEET

Archimedes’ Screw

Archimedes’ Screw is a device that was rotated by a windmill or through manual labour; it is a screw-shaped device that lifts the water inside the spiral tube to a higher elevation as the entire unit is rotated. The design of this device was beneficial, especially to the farmers, and it was even carried out in other industries to move light ingredients like grain in and out of farming silos.

The Odometer

Archimedes was also the first who came up with an idea of an odometer; it is a mechanical method of keeping track of distance travelled.

The idea behind the working of the Odometer was that a wheel travels its own circumference every time it goes around. He mounted a giant wheel of known circumference in a small frame. With each revolution, it repeatedly released a pebble into a container giving a measure of the distance travelled. In effect, it was the first Odometer.

Archimedes’ Law of Lever

Archimedes also found new usages for the lever. It was once said by the great inventor, “Give me a place to stand on, and a lever long enough, and I will move the earth.” He proved this statement by illustrating it with a considerable mechanism of a lever, along with a sequence of pulleys to launch the newly-constructed ship. Archimedes precisely described fundamental physics and clarified the ratios of force, load, and the lever’s capability.

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