1. ARCHIMEDES

2. Biography of Archimedes
Archimedes was born in Syracuse on the eastern coast of Sicily, Greece
and had his education in Alexandria, Egypt. He then returned to
Syracuse, where he spent most of the rest of his life, devoting his time to
research and experimentation in many fields.
He is credited with the principle of the lever, the invention of the
compound pulley and the hydraulic screw for raising water from a lower to
higher level. However, he is most famous for what is known as
'Archimedes' principle', stating that a body immersed in fluid loses weight
equal to the weight of the amount of fluid it displaces. Archimedes is
supposed to have made this discovery when stepping into his
bath, causing him to exclaim 'Eureka!‘
During the Roman conquest of Sicily in 214 BC Archimedes worked for
the state and several of his mechanical inventions were used in the
defence of Syracuse. Among the war machines attributed to him are the
catapult and possibly, a mirror system for focusing the sun's rays on the
invaders' boats and igniting them. After Syracuse was
captured, Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier. It is said that he was
so absorbed in his calculations he told his killer ‘don’t disturb my circles.’

3. Achievements of Archimedes
P1
Archimedes’ achievements may not seem much now but in his
time, it was astronomical. Archimedes understood the concept
of the lever He didn't invent it but understood how to use it
effectively. The principle is the distance between the supporting
point and each point multiply with force is same. So we can
hold the object more easily if we understand the multiplication
between distance and weight on one side and other. After
knowing this he said to King Hiero, "Give me a place to stand
on, and I will move the earth!" Using this idea, he defended
Syracuse from the Romans by building cranes and catapults to
attack, using the physics of the lever.
However Archimedes’ most famous achievement is that of
buoyancy. It is told that one day the king asked him to inspect a
crown of gold, suspecting that the crown was not pure gold and
he asked Archimedes to discover if it was or wasn’t without
destroying it. Archimedes did not know the answer and went to
a bathhouse to think. He noticed that the water brimmed over
when he stepped into it. He then shouted ‘Eureka’ and ran
home. He compared pure gold to a mixture of gold and
something else and found the pure gold is heavier and pushes
less water out The lighter metal pushes more water out
because it is less dense, so the volume will be bigger. Because
the volume is bigger, the buoyancy force is bigger, the density
is lower. When he compared gold and the crown, the crown
pushes more water out and so there was less gold in it! So by
using this principle Archimedes found out that the crown was
gold mixed with silver.

4. Achievements of Archimedes
P2
One of the many great mathematical
discoveries of Archimedes was the
relationship between the surface area
of a cylinder and a sphere.
Archimedes discovered that a sphere
that has the same diameter as the
height and width of the cylinder is 2/3
of the surface area of the cylinder.
Archimedes found this so important
that he had a sphere inscribed in a
cylinder carved onto his tomb.

5. Death of Archimedes
During the beginning of the 3rd century BC, the Romans began to prepare for
war with Carthage. The Romans consistently defeated Carthage until they
reached the capital. They retreated and forced Syracuse to become allies with
Rome and pay homage to the Romans. With the rise of Hannibal as a general,
the Romans fought again. After the death of the previous king of Syracuse, the
new king wanted to ally with Carthage and overthrow the Romans.
The new king was assassinated due to his anti-Rome views. In Syracuse, civil
war broke out and the pro-Carthage side won. Archimedes had prepared the
defences and made the city powerful. In legend, he created a solar death ray
and a giant claw.
It wasn’t enough. The general of the Romans, Marcus Claudius Marcellus
stormed the city and gave the soldiers free reign to pillage and kill the citizens.
Archimedes was studying shapes in the dirt when a Roman soldier found him.
He commanded Archimedes to tell him his name. Archimedes ignored the
soldier. The soldier savagely killed him due to his lack of respect. When
Marcellus learned of Archimedes death, he fell into a rage and executed the
soldier. In the aftermath of Archimedes’ death he contacted relatives and
organised a proper funeral for the legendary scientist.