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Archimedes

  • Writer: Trey Messier
    Trey Messier
  • Aug 6
  • 2 min read

Arguably, one of the most important figures in both Classical History and Engineering History is Archimedes. Born in Syracuse, Sicily, in 212 BC, very little is known about the great scientist. Much of what we know of him comes from second-hand accounts and is up to great scholarly debate. Yet, even from just his actual surviving work, he is considered one of the foremost scientific minds of the era due to the revolutionary nature and complexity of his work.

While conflicting views exist on the true nature and his own opinions of his work are still debated today, his most notable achievements were made with such a degree of foresight and contained ideas so advanced, they were not truly studied until the periods of the Renaissance and Enlightenment. These achievements include an early form of calculus, where, by applying the fundamental idea of infinitesimals and the method of exhaustion, he was able to create numerous geometric proofs foundational to mathematics, including the areas of circles and ellipses. Still, unfortunately, his mathematics remained unknown in classical antiquity and was only rediscovered and published widely later.


Artistic interpretation of Archimedes' Heat Ray; Giulio Parigi, c. 1599
Artistic interpretation of Archimedes' Heat Ray; Giulio Parigi, c. 1599

Aside from pure mathematics, Archimedes was a prolific inventor, especially in fulfilling the needs of his home city of Syracuse. His inventions range in capability and possibility. For instance, the Archimedian screw was a device used for irrigation of farmland and was used extensively by the Greeks. ON the other hand, the Archimedian Heat Ray may have used mirrors angled to catch the light of the sun and reflected them to burn ships attacking Syracuse. Still, these accounts are often disputed by scientists and philosophers as modern experiments fail to recreate the burning effect successfully.


Though writings about the famous inventor are often spotty and unclear, one fact is sure: Archimedes was an ahead-of-his-time inventor who is the creator of many examples of classical knowledge having use in the modern day, and a figure and inventor that innovators should look to as inspiration for their designs.


 
 
 

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