Mathematics as we know it today has evolved considerably over the past few centuries. It has evolved from basic counting, measuring, and computation to applying abstract logic and several complex concepts. In fact, the history of mathematics is as old as human civilization. Today, we will go back in time and explore the story of Archimedes, a mathematician and philosopher who eventually became known as the "father of mathematics".
The father of mathematics was the great Greek mathematician and philosopher Archimedes. Perhaps you have heard the name before - the principle of Archimedes is widely studied in physics and is named after the great philosopher. This respected scholar made great achievements in mathematics and physics, making him one of the top scientists of the classical era.
Archimedes is the mastermind behind pi, which is also known as the measurement of encapsulating the area of the circle, the surface area of the sphere, and the volume. Archimedes devoted his life to academic pursuits, and he had a strong desire to understand, explore, and discover the unknown in all walks of life.
In the following sections, we will get a glimpse of Archimedes' early life, education, epic writings, and immortal contributions to mathematics.
Archimedes was born A.D. In 287 BC in Syracuse, in present-day Sicily, Italy.
Unfortunately, there are not many details about Archimedes' early life, since the biography written by Archimedes' friend Heraclides has been lost. According to his account in the book "Sand Count", his father, Phidias, was an astronomer. To date, there is no information about his family, marital status, or children.
His writings show that he had scholarly relations with several scholars in Alexandria, Egypt. He published his work in the form of correspondence with major mathematicians such as Eratosthenes of Cyrene and Conon of Samos. Soon, famous scholars and writers, including Cicero and Plutarch, mentioned him in their books.
Modern mathematics owes much to Archimedes. While inventors and scientists are often recognized for a single discovery, Archimedes has a sparkling array of inventions and explorations.
Let's review the famous discoveries and inventions that made him an outstanding scientist.
pi".
'pi' is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. The result is 22 7 and is a fixed constant, independent of the size of the circle.
The approximation in decimal is 314。In that classical era, when there were no calculators or computers, Archimedes came up with this value by hand with perfect precision.
Archimedes' contribution to the discovery of exponential systems or large numbers is mentioned in his book The Sand Counter. He discovered and proved the exponential law and constructed the rules needed to manipulate powers of 10.
The famous exponential law we know today is 10 a10 b = 10 a+b is still used to solve many problems that involve repeated multiplication processes.
Archimedes devoted himself to the study of the theory of the universe. He estimated the upper limit of the number of grains of sand needed to fill the universe. As he mentions in his book The Sand Counter, he began to explore this brilliant idea while studying grains of sand.
Previously, Aristarchus of Samos was the only one to propose that the Sun is at the center of the universe and that the planets revolve around the Sun. Aristarks' original writings have been lost, but Archimedes' theories are cited in his writings.
Archimedes made a number of assumptions, including that the universe is a sphere and that the ratio of the diameter of the universe to the diameter of the Earth's orbit around the Sun is equal to the ratio of the diameter of the Earth's orbit around the Sun.
Archimedes used exhaustive methods based on counter-evidence to answer questions accurately. He also clarified the limitations of his answer. He used this technique to approximate the area of the graph and derive the value of pi and showed that it was less than 22 7 and greater than 223 71, which means that he was quite correct with modern calculations.
Another remarkable achievement of Archimedes and his contribution to mathematics was his method of calculating the area of a circle. He explained his concept in his book The Measurement of a Circle, in which he established the relationship between a sphere and a cylinder.
He studied the area and surface area of circles and parabolas. In his book "Finding the Product of a Parabola", he gave the relationship between the area of a parabola and a straight line.
The main results he gave in his book On the Sphere include:
The surface area of any sphere with radius r is four times the surface area of its maximum circle (in modern notation, s = 4 r 2).
If the sphere is attached to a cylinder, the volume of the sphere is two-thirds the volume of the cylinder. From this the formula for the volume of the sphere is derived: v = 4 3 r 3.
As a genius, Archimedes disseminated his knowledge into several books, articles, and propositions. His works include:
Measurement of circles, about spirals, on the equilibrium of planes, about spheres and cylinders, about floating bodies, stomachs, theorem methods of mechanics.
Several writers after Archimedes have mentioned his other writings, but these may no longer exist.
These include: The Monograph on Reflective Optics also discusses the phenomenon of refraction of light on 13 semi-regular polyhedra. These are objects or shapes that are surrounded by regular polygons, not necessarily of the same type, and can be attached inside a sphere. The "Cow Problem", which studies polynomial equations with integer solutions.
Archimedes' principle.
Archimedes discovered a way to determine the volume of irregularly shaped objects. In a reference by the Roman writer Vitruvius, King Hero II of Syracuse had asked a goldsmith to make a golden crown for the temple. The king suspected that the goldsmith had added some silver to the crown, which was not pure gold. He asks Archimedes to uncover the truth without breaking the crown or melting it into a regular shape to find out its density.
Inspiration can come at any time. One day, while bathing in the bathtub, Archimedes noticed that the water level increased as he entered. Archimedes later used this observation to calculate the volume of the crown.
Archimedes calculated the density of the crown by dividing the mass of the crown by the volume of water that was discharged. If the goldsmith adds silver to the mass, the density will be less than that of the gold. This method worked, and Archimedes used his famous phrase "Eureka!" His discovery was announced, which means "I have found it!" in Greek. ”
He later explained this principle in detail in his book On Floating Bodies.
Archimedes' contributions also spanned the fields of physics and engineering. According to the Greek writer Athena, King Heromeedes had asked Archimedes to design a huge ship called "Syracuse", which was lavishly built and could accommodate about 600 people, suitable for travel. It can deliver supplies and act as a naval warship.
Now, such a huge ship has the problem of potential leakage in the hull. To solve this problem, Archimedes designed the Archimedes screw. This screw is a machine consisting of a cylindrical body and spiral-shaped blades that can be rotated. It was made by hand, and he used it to remove excess water levels from low corpses.
Archimedes also devised a workable device in the shape of a metal claw to defend the city of Syracuse. The installation has a metal arm like a crane with a large hook that lifts enemy ships out of the water.
The Greek historian Plutarch, in his writings, described in detail the circumstances of Archimedes' death during the siege of the city of Syracuse by the Romans. Archimedes was trying to solve a math problem when a Roman soldier came to arrest him. Legend has it that Archimedes, on his deathbed, asked the Roman soldiers not to disturb his mathematical work.
Archimedes' contributions to the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy, and philosophy were outstanding. Historians of mathematics and sciences generally agree that Archimedes was the greatest mathematician of antiquity. Archimedes had a long history of inventions and discoveries, and he is rightfully regarded as the "father of mathematics".