Archimedes

Archimedes was born in the city of Syracuse on the island of Sicily in 287 BC. He was the son of an astronomer and mathematician named Phidias. He was an eminent scientist who made contributions in physics, engineering and mathematics. He is considered as one of the greatest scientists of ancient times. By the use of geometric principles, he was able to elucidate the principles for such basic devices as the pulley, the fulcrum and the lever. Archimedes is also credited with the discovery of the principle of buoyancy, or the upward force on a body placed in a fluid. Archimedes principle states that the buoyant force on a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body. His research into volume and density was fundamental to the development of theories of hydrostatics. Archimedes pushed mathematics, physics, and engineering to new heights. He discovered one of the most important concepts in physics,the center of gravity. His surviving works inspired both Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton to investigate the laws of motion.