Archimedes Influence in Science and Engineering

Abstract

Archimedes (ca. 287–212 BC) was born in Syracuse, in the Greek colony of Sicily. He studied mathematics probably at the Museum in Alexandria. Archimedes made important contributions to the field of mathematics. Archimedes discovered fundamental theorems concerning the center of gravity of plane geometric shapes and solids. He is the founder of statics and of hydrostatics. Archimedes was both a great engineer and a great inventor, his machines fascinated subsequent writers, and he earned the honorary title “father of experimental science”. Archimedes systematized the design of simple machines and the study of their functions and developed a rigorous theory of levers and the kinematics of the screw. His works contain a set of concrete principles upon which mechanics could be developed as a science using mathematics and reason. His contribution separates engineering science from technology and crafts, often confused for matters arrived at empirically through a process of long evolution. His works have influenced science and engineering from the Byzantine period to the Industrial Revolution and the New Era.