Archimedes and His Famous Inventions

Who was Archimedes?

The famous Greek Mathematician Archimedes was born in 290-280 BC in the city of Syracuse located on the Ionian coast of Sicily, Italy. From his early life, Archimedes had a curiosity and fondness for problem-solving. He pursued his higher studies at Alexandria in Egypt. After completing his studies, Archimedes served as an engineer and problem-solver for King Hiero II. He has designed several weapons for the defense of Syracuse. Archimedes biography is quite interesting like his inventions. Let us dig a little deeper to know more about the history of Archimedes.

Archimedes inventions

Being an astronomer, physicist, engineer, and inventor, Archimedes discovered many things. His principal inventions were the Archimedes’ Principle and the Archimedes screw, which are still in use in many places. People of his time considered Archimedes a mathematical and engineering genius and his inventions still hold the reputation.

Here, we can see interesting facts about Archimedes’ screw and the principle. 

• Archimedes screw

One day, the perplexed king Hiero II was unable to empty rainwater from one of his ships. He wanted Archimedes to assist him remove the water. Archimedes’ with his innovative brain, found a solution. This solution is known as the Archimedes screw. It is a cylinder enclosing a twisted blade that revolved upwards when turned by a handle. In this way, water was carried up the tube and out of the boat. This method is still useful for irrigation purposes in certain countries.

• Buoyancy principle

Archimedes invented the physical law of buoyancy when King Hiero asked him to check the quality of a gold crown to confirm whether it is pure gold or silver-mixed. The Greek mathematician was lying in his bathtub one day. At that time, he came to know that the water rises upwards if you submerge an object. This made him check the crown in the bathtub. Archimedes first put a silver bar in the bathtub filled with water and noticed how much water the silver displaced. Then, he again refilled the tub and then put the gold in. Now, the gold displaced less water than the silver. Archimedes noted both levels. Finally, he put the crown in the tub and

Came to know that the crown displaced more water than the gold. This made him conclude that the gold is mixed with silver. After finding this, Archimedes in a very excited manner, ran from his bathtub to meet King Hiero shouting, “Eureka,” which later became a famous word. 

Are you wondering what Archimedes Principle is?

Archimedes principle states that when an object at rest immersed in a fluid, whether fully or partially, is acted upon by a force, the upward buoyant force, which is equal to the weight of the fluid that the object displaces.

Bottom line

A Roman soldier killed the mathematician when he refused to leave his mathematical work, despite orders that Archimedes should not be attacked. The engineer wanted his tomb to be made as a sphere within a cylinder to represent his mathematical discoveries. The king made the tomb as he wished in the large Greek and Roman burial ground located in the park of Neapolis.