Archimedes' Advances

Archimedes, 214 B.C.-

As I feel my life drawing closer and closer to an end, as the Roman forces continue to push towards Syracuse, I would like to take this time to point out some of the discoveries that I treasure most. While I do not feel as though my work, will be fully appreciated during my time, I think that it will lay a solid foundation for math to build off of in the near future. Currently my inventions are what i am most known for. My contraptions that were put to use during the war defending Syracuse were very useful, but my largest contribution to mathematical history was my discoveries in the field of geometry. My theorems and postulates will always be useful.

While the number system that was in place before my time was adequate, it was in no way sufficient for the calculations that I used. For this reason I had to make a completely new system (with a few newly invented numbers as well). There was no way to express very large numbers. With this knowledge, I calculated the number of grains of rice that would fill what we know to be the universe. With the creation of this new system, I was able to invent integral calculus, which may have been my best invention ever. The level at which I studied Integral Calculus may be too advanced for you, but I will say that it was very important. None of this would be possible without my close backing from powerful people inside of Syracuse. Before I go into details about these relationships, I feel as though I should give some background about myself. I was born in 278 BC in Syracuse, Sicily. I have lived there all of my life except for a short period where I studied in Alexandria. While there, I was immersed into the brilliant mind of Euclid. Here fostered my passion for math. When I returned to Syracuse, my relationship with King Hiero was strengthened during the first Punic war. I was also able to play a major role during the war by using my two inventions, the Death Ray, and the “archimedes claw”.  The Death Ray was a series of mirrors when in shone in a concentrated enough beam, are able to light a wooden boat on fire.

Here is a painting of its effectiveness.

The hook was a pulley system that had a hook hanging into the water. If enemy boats got close enough, it was able to pull them out of the water and sink them. (See drawing below)

Both of these inventions played a very important role in the war and even turned the tide in our favor.

In addition to my inventions, my principles on water displacement were very important. I helped king Hiero figure out that a crown he had received had not been made out of only gold, but rather with silver as well. I figured out that the amount of water that was displaced should be the same as a piece of solid gold that occupied the same weight would displace the same amount of water. When I tested this I figured out that the amount of water that was displaced was different, therefore proving that the crown was not made of pure gold. I still remember when I figured out that theory, I was in the bathtub, and I screamed “Eureka!” This is one of my proudest moments.

Although the Romans are pushing farther towards Syracuse, I hope that I will be able to offer more contributions before my time is up.

-Archimedes

Picture 1 :

"Archimedes Death Ray: Idea Feasibility Testing." http://web.mit.edu/. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://web.mit.edu/2.009/www/experiments/deathray/10_ArchimedesResult.html>.

Picture 2:

"Archimedes' Claw: Illustrations."http://www.math.nyu.edu/. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://www.math.nyu.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/Claw/illustrations.html>.