The ancient Greek scientist Archimedes was an inventor, mathematician, constructor, engineer, physicist, astronomer and mechanic. He founded such a direction as mathematical physics. The researcher also developed methods for finding volumes, surfaces and areas of various bodies and figures, anticipating the integral calculus. He is the author of many inventions. The scientist’s name is associated with the emergence of the laws of leverage, the introduction of the term “center of gravity” and research in the field of hydrostatics. When the Romans attacked Syracuse, it was Archimedes who organized the engineering defense of the city.
In the days of high technology and scientific discoveries, we used to perceive achievements as something ordinary, forgetting that the foundations of existing knowledge were laid by ancient scientists. They were the pioneers. And Archimedes of Syracuse was generally a genius. After all, he confirmed most of his own ideas in practice. Our contemporaries successfully use them in their work, although they don’t even know who their author was. The biography of Archimedes has survived only from legends and memories. We invite you to familiarize yourself with it.
Childhood and study
Archimedes, whose short biography will be presented below, was born in the city of Syracuse around 287 BC. e. His childhood fell on the period when King Pierre waged wars with the Carthaginians and Romans, trying to create a new Greek state. Hieron, a relative of Archimedes, who later became the ruler of Syracuse, was especially distinguished in this war. Phidias (father of the boy) was an approximate of Hieron. This allowed him to give Archimedes a good education. But the young man lacked theoretical knowledge, and he went to Alexandria, which at that time was a scientific center. Here the Ptolemies - the rulers of Egypt - gathered the best Greek scholars and thinkers of that time. Also in Alexandria was the world's largest library, where Archimedes for a long time studied the mathematics and works of Eudoxus, Democritus, etc. In those years, the future researcher made friends with the astronomer Conon, the geographer and mathematician Eratosthenes. Then he kept frequent correspondence with them.
First profession
After studying, Archimedes, whose brief biography is known to all scientists, returned to Syracuse and inherited the position of Phidias - a court astronomer. Thanks to Hieron, peace came in the city. To get out of the First Punic War, he paid a huge indemnity to Rome. In “General History”, Polybius described him as follows: “The Hieron came to power, having neither glory, nor wealth, nor any gifts of fate. He did not offend anyone, did not expel, did not kill, and reigned for 54 years ... ”Nevertheless, Hieron, like his successors, paid great attention to the fortification of the city, preparing for possible military battles.
Scientific works
The position of an astronomer was not burdensome, and Archimedes was free to engage in other activities. In theoretical terms, his research was multifaceted. The first works of Archimedes were devoted to mechanics. He relied on it in some mathematical works. For example, a researcher applied the principle of leverage to solve several geometric problems. He presented the mathematical conclusions in his work "On the equilibrium of plane figures." This work of the scientist became the cornerstone of “Parabola of quadrature” (integral calculus), which will be discovered in 2000 years. And in the essay “On the measurement of a circle”, the researcher calculated the ratio of the diameter of a circle to its length, or, in other words, the Pi number (3.14). In addition, everyone still uses the invented system for naming integers.
Scientific achievements
Archimedes biography describes two of his most significant scientific achievements: the doctrine of the center of gravity and the formulation of the principle of leverage. He also laid the foundations of hydrostatics. Only at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century, these ideas were developed by Pascal, Galileo, Stevin and other scientists who used the law of Archimedes, which he described in his work “On Floating Bodies”. This essay was the first attempt to test in practice the fundamental assumption about the structure of matter by creating its model. Archimedes not only proved several main provisions on the physical characteristics of liquid atoms, but also confirmed a number of atomistic ideas of Democritus. In this work, the scientific genius of the researcher manifested itself with particular force. The results obtained by him were able to prove only in the 19th century.
Other studies
As the biography of Archimedes says, in addition to mechanics, physics and mathematics, he was engaged in meteorological and geometric optics. The scientist also conducted a series of experiments on the refraction of light. There is numerous information that Archimedes wrote a large work - "Catoptrica", but, unfortunately, it did not reach us. Based on the quotes from it, it can be assumed that the researcher knew about the incendiary effect of concave lenses, conducted experiments on the refraction of light in aqueous and air environments, and also had an idea about the properties of images in concave, convex, and planar mirrors. In addition to citations, only one theorem survived, proving that when a light ray is reflected from a mirror, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
Defense of syracuse
Archimedes' discoveries in the field of engineering brought him the greatest fame, which crossed the borders of not only countries, but also centuries. His engineering genius manifested itself especially vividly in 214 BC. e. during the siege of his native Syracuse. Archimedes has already exchanged the seventh decade. It was one of the greatest triumphs in the life of a scientist. Here he proved himself not only as an inventor, but also as an outstanding builder. Everyone knows that the ancient structures consisted of solid walls. Archimedes mounted loopholes and embrasures in them, intended for middle and lower battle. The combat vehicles he created in peacetime made it possible to defend Syracuse from the attack of the Romans for three years.
Last years
As you can see, the scientific life of Archimedes was vibrant and eventful. In recent years, he has been engaged in computational and astronomical activities. Titus Livy (Roman writer) called him "a one of a kind observer of stars and sky." Although not a single astronomical work of Archimedes has reached us, there is no doubt about the authenticity of this characteristic. The story about the astronomical sphere created by him and the essay “Psammit”, where the scientist is trying to calculate the number of grains of sand in the Universe, testify to this type of activity.
In the essay of the researcher there is a moment that can be attributed to the category of "discovery of Archimedes." The scientist was the first in the history of science to compare two systems of the world - heliocentric and geocentric. Archimedes wrote: “Most astronomers believe that the world is a ball made between the centers of the Earth and the Sun.” Thus, he was aware of the size of the world and understood that it was finite. This allowed the researcher to complete his calculations.
Conclusion
This concludes the biography of Archimedes. He appeared before us as an engineer, researcher, theorist and popularizer of science. The combination of practical thinking with mathematical talent and organizational skills was rare at the time. Archimedes entered the history of science as a vivid example of a researcher who was able to harmoniously combine theory with practice. Undoubtedly, he is an exemplary scientist, from whom we must take an example to other generations of researchers. The mathematical physics proposed by Archimedes was not taken seriously by either his descendants or scientists of the Middle Ages. If we talk about researchers ahead of time, then Archimedes was among them the champion. Only in the 16-17th century European mathematicians were able to realize the importance and significance of his scientific contribution. Since then, the ancient Greek scientist had many enthusiastic followers who were eager to prove their theories with concrete conquests. And now, in memory of this genius, the scientists who made the discovery repeat the same exclamation as Archimedes: “Eureka! I found".