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Definition: Archimedes from Philip's Encyclopedia

Greek mathematician and engineer. He developed a method for expressing large numbers and made outstanding discoveries about the determination of areas and volumes, which led to an accurate method of measuring π (pi). In his work On Floating Bodies he stated Archimedes' Principle. He also invented the Archimedes' screw.

Archimedes

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(ärkĭmē'dēz), 287–212 B.C. , Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor. He is famous for his work in geometry (on the circle, sphere, cylinder, and parabola), physics, mechanics, and hydrostatics. He lived most of his life in his native Syracuse, where he was on intimate terms with the royal family. Few facts of his life are known, but tradition has made at least two stories famous. In one story, he was asked by Hiero II to determine whether a crown was pure gold or was alloyed with silver. Archimedes was perplexed, until one day, observing the overflow of water in his bath, he suddenly realized that since gold is more dense (i.e., has more weight per volume) than silver, a given weight of gold represents a smaller volume than an equal weight of silver and that a given weight of gold would therefore displace less water than an equal weight of silver. Delighted at his discovery, he ran home without his clothes, shouting “Eureka,” which means “I have found it.” He found that Hiero's…
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From Astronomy Encyclopedia
Lunar crater (30°N 4°W), 82 km (51 mi) in diameter, the largest in Mare IMBRIUM . Archimedes' terraced walls average only 1200 m (4000 ft) above its almost featureless floor: it is filled almost to the brim by Imbrium's lava flows. A few peaks are as high as 2250 m (7400 ft). Scattered bright…
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Full text Article Archimedes

From Philip's Encyclopedia
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Full text Article Archimedes

From The Classical Tradition
Translated by Patrick Baker Even in antiquity Archimedes of Syracuse was a symbol of intelligence and discernment beyond all human proportion, comparable in modern times to Newton and Einstein. Accordingly, several different images of Archimedes can be discerned, behind which the actual historical…
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From Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature
(b. ca. 287 BCE –d. 212 BCE ) Greek scientist The ancient Greeks ascribed a broader purview to the field of literature than we moderns are accustomed to do, and writers on astronomy, physics, and mathematics were numbered among those whose works the ancients considered literary. A giant among the…
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From Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World
Also known as: Arkhimedes (b. ca. 287–d. 212 BCE ) Greek inventor and mathematician Archimedes’ discoveries in geometry and hydrostatics (the study of the properties of standing water) were monumental, and represent a high point of Greek achievement. A friend and adviser of King Hieron II, …
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From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(born c. 290–280 bc , Syracuse, Sicily—died 212/211 bc , Syracuse) Legendary Greek inventor and mathematician. His principal discoveries were the Archimedes screw, an ingenious device for raising water, and the hydrostatic principle, or Archimedes’ principle . His main interests were optics, …
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From Chambers Biographical Dictionary
c.287-212 BC Greek mathematician, the most celebrated of antiquity, and one of its greatest creative geniuses Archimedes was born in Syracuse, the son of an astronomer called Phidias, and probably studied at Alexandria. He lived for part of his life at the court of Hieron II of Syracuse. It was…
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From The American Heritage Student Science Dictionary
Archimedes
Greek mathematician, engineer, and inventor. He made numerous contributions to mathematics, including a method for calculating the value of pi as well as formulas for the areas and volumes of various geometric figures. Archimedes created the science of mechanics, devising the first general theory of…
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Full text Article Archimedes

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(ärkĭmē'dēz), 287–212 B.C. , Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor. He is famous for his work in geometry (on the circle, sphere, cylinder, and parabola), physics, mechanics, and hydrostatics. He lived most of his life in his native Syracuse, where he was on intimate terms with the royal…
| 398 words
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Full text Article Archimedes

From The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin
An ancient Greek scientist, mathematician, and inventor. He is best known for his investigations of buoyancy . Archimedes is said to have shouted “ Eureka! ” (“I have found it!”) as he stepped into his bath and realized that the volume of an object can be measured by determining how much water it…
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