1
Archimedes Biography:
Physics 1010: Elementary Physics
Spring 2012
Ben Sharp
2
Godfrey Harold Hardy, an English mathematician, once said that “Archimedes will be
remembered when Aeschylus is forgotten, because languages fie and mathematical ideas do not.
‘Immortality’ may be a silly word but probably a mathematician has the best chance of whatever
it means.” Although it may never be known if this is a true statement, it does speak volumes on
the reputation of Archimedes and his impact on the ever evolving world. Born around 287 BC in
Syracuse on the Greek island of Sicily to an astronomer named Phidias, and possible related to
the Syracusan crown and lived a royal life. As a boy he left his island home to receive his
education in Alexandria, Egypt. In his era Alexandria was the apex of intellect and many up and
coming scholars learned and honed their skills in that bustling metropolis. Excellent teachers
sought out Archimedes to be their prized pupil. He did most of his studying in a famous school
of mathematics that was founded by Euclid, who was known as the father of geometry. It was
here that he became the scientist that he was destined to be. Two great scholars, Conon of Samos
and Eratosthenes of Cyrene, advised the young Archimedes in subjects like math, physics,
engineering and, astronomy, but also in art and politics.
Most of this life was spent on Sicily where he served as an advisor to the king and was
free to preform many mathematical and physics experiments. The most popular story of
Archimedes early days was that of the “Bath and the gold Crown”. The story begins with the
king of Syracuse asking Archimedes to prove that a crown that he is offering to the gods is pure.
The catch to this request was that the young scientist couldn’t hurt the metal in any shape or
form. One day after many hours of theorizing and experimentation Archimedes decided he had
better take a bath. While in the water he noticed that when he got in the water level would move
up and when he got out it would move down. Just then he figured out the solution to the king’s
request. He ran to his house naked shouting, “Eureka! I found it”. When he reached his house he
3
used the equal weight in gold and compared it to the displacement that the crown had in the
water. Through this experiment it was shown that the crown could not be pure gold because it
was made of a heavier melt and moved more water. In 212 BC Archimedes died during the Siege
of Syracuse. But, The mathematical master mind used his creativity and knowledge of physics to
help defend his beloved city for a fewer weeks before they were overwhelmed and defeated. The
battle was between Rome and Sicily. And although, they were once strong allies, war broke out
between the theses two nations and had been raging for two years prior to his death. At this time
Rome was at the height of its aggression and the proud nation was in the middle of the Second
Punic War against the Carthaginians in the south.
A Roman force led by the General Marcus Claudius Marcellus laid siege to the port city
on two fronts, by sea and land. The city of Syracuse, located on the eastern coast of Sicily was
renowned for its significant fortifications, and great walls that protected the city from attack.
Archimedes was among the Syracuse defenders and he used many of his inventions to halt the
onslaught of the Roman forces. The battle lasted many weeks mostly thanks to Archimedes. The
defenses of his city relied heavily on his intellect. They used the Archimedes claw, which was a
great crane that could pluck attacking ships from the water and then drop them on the rocky
shore where they would be crushed by gaged rocks. Also, the defending forces used floating
obstacles that resembled floating spike balls that could sit in the water waiting to puncture the
hulls of ships to prevent them from advancing in great numbers. But, the most creative of all his
devises was his mirror. It is said that he placed a perfectly polished mirror at the top of the city’s
tallest tower that overlooked the sea and used it to reflect sun light so hot that it could set ships
and soldiers on fire.
4
The city was finally over thrown one day when the towns folk over confidently held a
festival for their goddess Artemis. The Roman soldiers scaled one of the towers during the night
and the city was theirs. It is said that the roman General, Marcus Marcellus, wanted to keep the
man that laid waste to his forces alive but he couldn’t control his men when they finally had a
chance to inflict real damage to the town they had been sent to destroy. A Roman soldier killed
him while he was alone in his home busy working and experimenting on his ideas.
Archimedes lived his life playing with number much like children play with blocks. He
used numbers as a source of amusement but also as a way of understanding the world around
him. He held many titles as an adult some of them include mathematician, physicist, engineer,
inventor and astronomer. Above all other things that he was in the past he is a perfect example of
what one man is capable of if he is allowed to do what he truly loves. In the span of 65 years he
was able to not only change his culture but the coarse that history would take. Some of his most
influential inventions are the; “Block and Tackle Pulley System”, which was used to make it
easier to lift and transport heavy objects, the “Odometer”, used to measure the distance traveled
on a path. This is one invention that was lost but later found in the fifteenth century, and also
“The Archimedes Screw”, this was and is still used in irrigation and in pumping liquids and
solids like grain and coal. He also is noted for the Archimedes principle which states that an
object is immersed in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by
the object.
It has been said that every generation has a great thinker; these are men and women that
see things clearer and in a different ways than the rest of us. Men like Aristotle, Ptolemy and
Archimedes from way back when and more recently Einstein and Edwin Hubble have impacted
the world around them in ways that will last till the end of time. These men used math and
5
physics to help make the world a better place. There is one constant that all these men share and
that is time. Each one of them used their time doing what they liked and got better at it. The story
of Archimedes is inspiring because of how much joy and enthusiasm he showed in his work.
And it shows that when you let the mind grow great things are possible.
6
Bibliography:
The Death of Archimedes." Livius. Articles on Ancient History. Mar. 2009. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.livius.org/sh-si/sicily/sicily_t17.html>.
WebsiteLinkTagsEditDelete
"Explore 100 Famous Scientist Quotes Pages." Archimedes Quotes. Apr. 2001. Web. 12 Apr.
2012. <http://www.todayinsci.com/A/Archimedes/Archimedes-Quotations.htm>.
WebsiteLinkTagsEditDelete
"Famous Scientists." Archimedes. Content & Imagery, 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.famousscientists.org/archimedes/>.
WebsiteLinkTagsEditDelete
Fowler, Jim. "Five Cool Inventions of Archimedes." Web log post. 16 Jan. 2006. Web. 14 Apr.
2012. <http://myfivebest.com/five-cool-inventions-by-archimedes/>.