Fresh look at Archimedes' theories

Discovery News ^ | Monday, 6 June 2005 | Rossella Lorenzi

[TFine80]

Eureka!

[WestVirginiaRebel]

It is also the only source in the original Greek of Archimedes' theory of floatation of bodies

I'm glad Archimedes never met Michael Moore-he might have been too discouraged to write it down!

[King Prout]

simply cool

[newzjunkey]

I was hoping this would go well. Time will tell, however, if we can make sense of what the scanning revealed.

[highlander_UW]

I'm glad Archimedes never met Michael Moore-he might have been too discouraged to write it down!

But he could have then written about the displacement of water by massive bodies.

[Names Ash Housewares]

We stand on the shoulders of giants. Building on the works of those before us. Obligated to those yet unborn to do our part. I am amazed each day the things that can be learned.

[Nathan Zachary]

I'm amazed on how much ISN'T being learned in schools these days, and what is learned shouldn't be.

[PMCarey]

I'm glad Archimedes never met Michael Moore-he might have been too discouraged to write it down!

Or he might have discovered the works of Cantor 2000 years early.

[Bon mots]

I always wondered how the Greeks did mathematics, since Hindu-Arabic numerals weren't introduced to us in the west until the 12th century by Fibonacci.

I know that the Romans used Abacci (a digital counting mechanism, in fact) and transcribed everything using Roman Numerals.

What did the Greeks use?

[sonofatpatcher2]

Re "Or he might have discovered the works of Cantor 2000 years early."

Are your referring to Moritz Benedikt Cantor 1829 - 1920?

From 1860 Cantor lectured on the history of mathematics and became one of the leading German historians of mathematics at the end of the 19th Century. From http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Cantor_Moritz.html

[Popman]

I'm amazed on how much ISN'T being learned in schools these days, and what is learned shouldn't be.

I'm sure if you polled the students in your typical high school and asked who "Archimedes" is, the #1 response would be "Does he have a new rap CD out"?

[PatrickHenry]

SciencePing

An elite subset of the Evolution list. See the list's description at my freeper homepage. Then FReepmail to be added or dropped.

[PatrickHenry]

Related thread from almost a month ago: Archimedes manuscript yields secrets under X-ray gaze.
(You figured there's no need to do a search on "Archimedes," huh? Never underestimate FreeRepublic!)

[DGray]

There were/are other counting and numerical systems in existance. The Greeks used their own alphabetic nuemeral system which they are thought to have adapted from the Egyptians: Greek mathematical systems

[skinkinthegrass]

Thanks, PH...another interesting post. 8)

[RightWhale]

Archimedes used analog computers. Interesting. Who would be his modern equivalent? The artillery monk would be my nomination.

[Bon mots]

...Greek mathematical systems...

Thanks!

[infocats]

It is also the only source in the original Greek of Archimedes' theory of flotation of bodies.

Updated translation:

although BS floats, the DIMS continue to sink!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!