Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand, and I will move the world. These daring and bold words were quoted by the genius whose contribution in the field of science changed the entire world forever. Yes we are discussing no other than the famous mathematician and scientist Archimedes. He is known for his precious contribution in the field of physics, mechanics, geometry and hydrostatics. His principles are still basis of huge phenomenon in the world and would be always considered as major breakthroughs in the world of science. His discoveries are many including the various principles of mechanics, buoyancy, hydrostatics, specific gravity, the lever and the pulley etc and etc.

Born approximately in 287 BC Archimedes grew up in the Greek city state of Syracuse on the island of Sicily. He was the son of the great astronomer Phidias. He was known to be the relative and close associate of Hiero II, the then king of Syracuse and therefore enjoyed a royal life. Nothing much is known about his associates or his family members except for incidences which directly relate to his discoveries. He lived his entire life in Syracuse except for the time he went for his education in Alexandria. As a boy Archimedes was never deprived of education as the Greeks were patrons of education and always wanted their children to be educated and knowledgeable. Apart from science and mathematics Archimedes studied other subjects like poetry, politics, astronomy, music, art and military tactics. In his teens he went to Egypt to study in Alexandria. Life was shaping the way Archimedes wanted and soon he got a chance to study in the famous school of mathematics founded by Euclid. This was the place where he studied astronom, physics and mathematics with other geniuses and great minds of that era. He was guided by the great scholar and teacher Conon of Samos who in later life also had a great influence in the life of the scientist. Conon of Samos influenced Archimedes in many ways and taught him about life and science which later shaped this young boy to be one of the greatest scientist of the world.

There are not many stories related to Archimedes but two among them are quite famous. In one of them he was assigned by the king Hiero II to determine the purity of his crown whether it is pure gold or is an alloy with silver. Archimedes thought for days until one day he realized while taking bath that the amount of water displaced by his weight has something to do with the purity. He concluded that since gold is more dense or has more weight per volume than silver therefore a given weight of gold is of lesser volume than an equal weight of silver. As a result of this a given weight of gold displaces less water as compared to an equal weight of silver. With this discovery he was so much overjoyed that he ran home shouting “Eureka” or “ I have found it”. he demonstrated that the kings crown displaced more weight than an equal weight of gold therefore concluding that the crown has been alloyed. Yet in other story he told the great king Hiero II that “give me a place to stand and I will move the world.” His creation however kept on making stories. He created machines of war which was so ingenious that it kept the besieging army of Marcus Claudius Marcellus away from the city for three whole years. There is yet another interesting story related to the siege of the city according to which Archimedes constructed a burning mirror which set the roman ships on fire when they were at a bow’s distance.

One of his much talked invention was the screw better known as the Archimedes screw. The utility of the equipment was such that it is still used in some parts of Egypt for the purpose of irrigation. The screw was invented by him in the third century BC. It was believed to be invented by him for the purpose of removing water from the hold of a large ship. The machine consist of water tight cylinder which encloses a helix and has its lower open end placed a half turn in the water. The water is therefore lifted mechanically when the machine is turned on. The principle was used for handling light, loose materials also such as ash, grain, sand etc. One can see the use of the machine in certain high speed tools in the modern day world. The list of other inventions is so long that it needs one full life of a person to understand it. in the first century BC Cicero mentioned about two spheres build by Archimedes that Marcellus brought to Rome after the conquer of the Syracuse in 212 BC. One was a solid sphere on which were engraved or painted the stars and constellation which was later placed in the Temple Of Virtue. The second sphere was fully credited to Archimedes which was nothing but a planetarium – a mechanical model which demonstrate the motion of sun, moon and planets as viewed from the earth. This device of Archimedes was referred by many ancient writers in their poetries and prose and it was believed that the talents of Archimedes was certainly uniquely created by the god himself for it is not possible for an human being of ordinary caliber to be of such extraordinary talent.

The talent and the significance of Archimedes works can be easily understood if we look on to those writing which have survived. The treatises which demonstrate his discoveries in mathematics and in floating bodies are extant. They are – On the Sphere and Cylinder in two books, dedicated to Dositheus dealing with the dimensions of spheres, cones, solid rhombi and cylinder, The measurement of the circle is a short book of three proposition, On Conoids and Spheroids is a treatise in 32 proposition, On Spirals is a book of 28 propositions, On plane Equilibria or centres of gravities of plane consist of two books which perhaps were the foundation of the theoretical mechanics – first book having 15 proposition with 7 postulates and the second having 10 propositions, The Quadrature of Parabola is a book of 24 proposition, On Floating bodies is a treatise in two books, The Sand Reckoner is a small treatise addressed to Gelo- the eldest son of Hiero dedicated to a system of naming large numbers in relations to orders and periods, The Method addressed to Eratostehenes is a treatise of vital interest and lastly The Collection of Lemmas consisting of 15 proposition in plain geometry.

Not all good and loved things are forever in this world and often it is observed that famous personalities have insignificant ending. But the death of Archimedes was significant in a way that during the last hour of his life also he was busy working and experimenting on his ideas. During the capture of Syracuse in 212 BC the Romans were busy in the general massacre in the city which ultimately led to the fall of the city. During that time Archimedes was busy in his house totally absorbed in his work and trying to find solution for a mathematical problem. He became annoyed to a certain roman soldier who stepped onto the circle that he was drawing. The Roman soldier had come to bring him in front of Marcellus who knew the worth of Archimedes. In a fury he said to the soldier “Noli Turbane Circulos Meos” meaning do not disturb my circles. These were perhaps the last words of Archimedes because after this he was killed by the soldier with his sword. When the general came to know about this great loss the soldier was executed but that couldn’t bring the jewel back to this earth. Marcellus then ordered an honorable burial to be given to Archimedes and also befriended his surviving relatives. His tomb was then marked by a Sphere inscribed in a cylinder, the discovery of the relation between the surface and the volume of a sphere and its circumscribing cylinder being regarded by him as his most valuable achievement.

Archimedes died but the contribution moved and propelled the world towards scientific evolution and betterment of the human race. The world without such great geniuses is definitely hollow but the knowledge spread by him will continue to light the darkness of unknown and impossible.