Archimedes Essay examples -- Biographies Bio Biography

People have been aware of objects floating on water or sinking since before recorded history. It was not until Archimedes of Syracuse came along, that the theory of flotation and the buoyancy principle were defined. Archimedes was born at Syracuse on the island of Sicily in 287 BC. His father, Phidias, is thought to have been an astronomer who discovered the size and distances of the sun and moon. Archimedes might have been related to King Hieron the second, King Hieron definitely favored Archimedes as his first philosopher. As a young boy, Archimedes developed a life-long interest in the study of the heavens. As a teen he traveled to Egypt where he studied at the great Library of Alexandria, possibly under the followers of Euclid. Archimedes is often described as being absentminded, self-absorbed, and somewhat eccentric. Despite these personal attributes, he was recognized in his own time as a genius, and is revered today as one of the greatest figures in the history of science and mathematics. It is not known if Archimedes did marry or if he had any kids, Archimedes' first love was always mathematics. He is also known today to have been an experimental physicist, legendary philosopher, artistic engineer and a wise inventor. He would often spend days so intently fixed on solving a problem that he neglected both food and himself to a point that his friends would carry him kicking and fighting to the bath. He often stooped to the ground to work mathematical problems by drawing figures in the dirt. He is even said to have carried a small wooden tray filled with sand, which he used to draw his figures and work on his mathematical problems. You might think of this tray as our modern day lap-top or another recording device. Of course,... ... felt guilty to be so stupid to have send a soldier to get Archimedes from his studies. In his triumph he provided Archimedes with an honorable burial and befriended his dead relative. On Archimedes grave stone there is an inscription of Pi, I think his most famous discovery. Finally a sphere with a cylinder and the 2:3 ratio of the volumes (the solution to the problem), which he took pride as his greatest achievement. Finally, Archimedes lived from 287B.C to 212 B.C, spending most of his life in his home land. Not much is known about his childhood or about him growing up but without him or modern world wouldn't be the same. Thanks to him we have improved inventions and theories and/or formulas. Such as, the determination of circular area, he approximated more precisely than anyone to date, near development of the Calculus, Quadrature of the parabola, and many more.