Archimedes was the greatest mathematical physicist of ancient times. He used geometrical arguments to prove statements in mechanics. His book Floating Bodies is a foundation work in hydrostatics (the study of liquids at rest). Legend has it that while bathing Archimedes discovered the principle that a body immersed in water is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the water displaced, and in his elation he ran out naked into the street shouting “Eureka!” (“I have found it”).
Archimedes (287-212 bc), preeminent Greek mathematician and inventor, who wrote important works on plane and solid geometry, arithmetic, and mechanics.
Archimedes was born in Syracuse, Sicily, and educated in Alexandria, Egypt. In pure mathematics he anticipated many of the discoveries of modern science, such as the integral calculus, through his studies of the areas and volumes of curved solid figures and the areas of plane figures. He also proved that the volume of a sphere is two-thirds the volume of a cylinder that circumscribes the sphere.
In mechanics, Archimedes defined the principle of the lever and is credited with inventing the compound pulley. During his stay in Egypt he invented the hydraulic screw for raising water from a lower to a higher level. He is best known for discovering the law of hydrostatics, often called Archimedes' principle, which states that a body immersed in fluid loses weight equal to the weight of the amount of fluid it displaces. This discovery is said to have been made as Archimedes stepped into his bath and perceived the displaced water overflowing.
Archimedes spent the major part of his life in Sicily, in and around Syracuse. He did not hold any public office but devoted his entire lifetime to research and experiment. During the Roman conquest of Sicily, however, he placed his gifts at the disposal of the state, and several of his mechanical devices were employed in the defense of Syracuse. Among the war machines attributed to him are the catapult and—perhaps legendary—a mirror system for focusing the sun's rays on the invaders' boats and igniting them.
After the capture of Syracuse during the Second Punic War, Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier who found him drawing a mathematical diagram in the sand. It is said that Archimedes was so absorbed in calculation that he offended the intruder merely by remarking, “Do not disturb my diagrams.” Several of his works on mathematics and mechanics survive, including Floating Bodies, The Sand Reckoner, Measurement of the Circle, Spirals, and Sphere and Cylinder. They all exhibit the rigor and imaginativeness of his mathematical thinking.
that's all info i have got..
now u not only know who that person was but also all about him...
2007-07-29 09:00:23
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answer #1
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answered by Angel 1
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Eureka Eureka are Archimedes' words. He was given a job to find the whether emperor's crown made by a goldsmith is of pure gold or is mixed with other metals. He realised it (found the answer) when he was taking a bath in a tub & he started running to the palace shouting the said words. After that we've Archimedes principle which probably you know better.
Salesmen of a Tata Group company "Eureka Forbes" always insist on buying Eureka itmes. They are the ones who are shouting these words nowadays.
2007-07-27 17:49:57
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answer #2
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answered by Mel 2
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Who cried Eureka? What did he mean? Why did he cry Eureka? What did he do besides cry Eureka?
Who is this mathematician who is believed to be one of the three greatest mathematicians along with Isaac Newton and Carl Gauss?
He loved geometry, ran naked through the streets, invented many war machines, and was born in Syracuse, Greece. Give up?
Archimedes of Syracuse
2007-07-27 08:34:13
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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Archimedes it was and Andrew G is almost right. A body immersed in water does not displace it's weight. It displaces it's volume. Knowing both the weight and volume of an object allows you to calculate it's specific gravity so if he knew that of gold and the crown's was different then it couldn't be all gold. The idea came to him when his bath was full to the brim and on getting in Archimedes noticed that water poured over the side as his body went deeper in the water. This gave him the idea for displacement causing him to should 'Eureka' or, translated 'I have it.'
2007-07-27 07:48:35
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answer #4
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answered by quatt47 7
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Yes, Archimedes. The problem was how to tell whether the king's crown was all gold, or whether the goldsmiths had cheated by adding less valuable metal. He realised the solution (that a floating body displaces its weight of water) while in the bathtub. The story goes that he was so excited that he ran through the streets yelling 'eureka!' ('I have found it'), without realising he had not put on any clothes.
2007-07-27 06:48:37
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answer #5
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answered by AndrewG 7
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I typed in: Eureka, Eureka! in the "Research your answer" section and then clicked on "Search the Web." Go to: http://math. about.com/library/blbioarchimedes.htm to read the full article on this info.
Archimedes, a Greek Geometer, Mathematician, Inventor, and Engineer is believed to be the originator of "Eureka, Eureka!"
2007-07-27 06:57:41
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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You must be thinking of Archimedes. If I remember right it was about two centuries before Christ. He had an epiphany dealing with the method of determining the volume of an irregularly shaped solid. It was a problem he had been working on. Eureka is usually translated as "I've got it!"
2007-07-27 06:41:10
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answer #7
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answered by Robert K 5
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Archimedes
2007-07-27 07:03:12
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answer #8
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answered by கதிர் 2
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Archimedes
2007-07-27 06:41:11
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answer #9
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answered by Dev 2
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Archimedes
2007-07-27 06:39:20
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answer #10
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answered by Anonymous
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