Comenius Project Greece, october 2012 Syracuse and Archimedes “The two highways of the life: maths and English”

Syracuse Syracuse (SIHR uh kyoos) On the southeaster coast of Sicily, was one of the most powerful cities of the ancient Greek world. Greeks from Corinth founded Syracuse about 734 B.C. The city grew rapidly. It became a cultural centre under Hiero I, who built an empire in southern Italy. The greek theater of Syracuse

Syracuse A democracy was established at Syracuse after Hiero’s death. It defeated a strong Athenian force that besieged the city from 415 to 4133 B.C But internal troubles and treats from Carthage brought to power a harsh military ruler – Dionysius I. After Dionysius’ death in 367 B.C., Syracuse declined. Hiero II A metope of Athenaion

Syracuse About 345 B.C., The Corinthian general Timoleon defeated the Carthaginians and rebuilt the city. During the rule of Hiero II, in the 200’s B.C., Syracuse was allied with Rome. But the city sided with Carthage, and Romans captured it in 211 B.C., after a three year siege. The mathematician Archimedes aided the defenders during the siege with several defensive devices he invented. Syracuse then became the capital of the Roman province of Sicily. In A.D. 878, the Saracens destroyed Syracuse. The town of Siracusa now stands on its site.

Archimedes A Greek mathematician and inventor, made some man’s basic scientific discoveries. Some historians call him the father of experimental science, because he tested his ideas by experiment. In his own time Archimedes was best known for his many inventions. But he looked on inventing as play. He considered mathematics his real work. Archimede – Domenico Fetti (1620)

Archimedes His life Archimedes was born in Syracuse, then a Greek colony. He probable went to school in Alexandria, Egypt, then the centre of Greek learning. He spent the rest of his life in Sicily. The Romans captured Syracuse and killed Archimedes in 212 B.C. The Roman commander, Marcellus, ordered his soldiers not to harm Archimedes when they took Syracuse. But, according to one story, a Roman soldier failed to recognize the great man. While Archimedes was drawing geometric figures in the sand, the soldier ran a sword through him.

Archimedes His discoveries Archimedes discovered the laws of the lever and the pulley. These discoveries led to construction of machines capable of moving heavy loads easily. He once boasted, “Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the earth.” He was referring to the way a lever can help a man move objects many times his own size.

Archimedes Archimedes was born in Syracuse, then a Greek colony. He probably went to school in Alexandria Egypt, the centre of Greek learning. He spent the rest of his life in Sicily. He di much of his work for Hiero, the king of Syracuse. According to legend, Hiero became suspicious about a new gold crown. He suspected that the goldsmith had not made it of pure gold, but had mixed in some less costly silver.

Archimedes The king asked Archimedes to find out if the goldsmith had cheated. Archimedes decided to solve the problem by comparing the volume (amount of space an object occupies) of the crown with the volume of a piece of pure gold that weighed the same of the crown. He reasoned that a crown of pure gold and a piece of gold of equal weight would have the same volume. He also reasoned that an ounce of gold would have less volume than an ounce of silver, because gold is heavier than silver. Therefore a crown of pure gold would have less volume than a crown weighing the same, but made of gold and silver.

Archimedes The next problem was to measure the volume of the crown. The volume of a regularly shaped piece of gold can be computed easily. But a crown is too irregular in shape to be measured. Archimedes found the answer while taking a bath. He noticed that when he got into the tub full of water, some of the water spilled over the side. He reasoned that if he caught this spilled water in a container and measured it, its volume would equal to the volume of his own body.

Archimedes This discovery gave Archimedes a way to measure the volume of the crown. He was so excited that he ran into the street without dressing and yelled, “Eureka!” (“ II have found it!” – meaning that he had found the answer to the riddle of the crown). Archimedes put the crown in water. It displaced more water than an equal weight of pure gold. Archimedes also discovered basic laws of hydrostatics. Hydrostatics is a branch of physics that deals with fluids. One of the laws, called Archimedes’ principle, explains buoyancy. Buoyancy is the loss of weight an object seems to undergo when it is placed in a liquid. Archimedes principle states that an object placed in a liquid seems to lose an amount of weight equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces. From the same basic idea, he also concluded that a floating object displaces an amount of liquid equal to its own weight.

Archimedes Archimedes made discoveries in mathematics as well as in physics. He found a way to determine a more exact value of pi (the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter). He showed that the value of pi is between 3… and 3…… This discovery made it possible to solve many problems involving the area of circles and the volume of cylinders. Archimedes invented a numeration system that was more workable with large numbers than were Greek and Roman systems. Using this system, Archimedes calculated the number of grains of sand it would take to fill the universe. He was also the first person to use methods now used in calculus a form of higher mathematics.

Archimedes His inventions. Archimedes is credited with inventing the Archimedean screw, a device still used to lift water for irrigation. He also invented machines that drove the Roman general Marcellus’ army from the walls of Syracuse. One of these machines was a catapulta weapon that shot rocks at the enemy. Some writers of ancient times report that Archimedes invented grappling hooks that could seize ships and disable them. They also say he designed a system of mirrors that concentrated the sun’s rays to set the enemy ships on fire.