Archimedes was one of the most prominent mathematicians of Ancient Greek. His inventions and theories have helped physicists, mathematicians, engineers and astronomers for more than two millennia. There are numerous Archimedes major accomplishments to talk about but it must be noted that there is some degree of exaggeration with a few of his inventions. Many of his works are severely disputed, especially those that are beyond the scope of mathematics and physics. A few weapons as has been credited to him have been found to be figments of imaginations as there is no proof. In here, we shall focus on the Archimedes major accomplishments that are beyond doubt.
1. Archimedes Theory
One of the greatest contributions of Archimedes was his theory that allows the measurement of the volume of an irregularly shaped object. This is today known as Archimedes’ Principle.
2. Method of Exhaustion
Archimedes developed a process, which he called method of exhaustion, using which he could figure out the value of pi. Figuring out pi paved the way to measure the volume or area of circles, cones, pyramids, spheres or any shape and object that had irregular surfaces or curved lines.
3. Invented Many Theories
Archimedes proved many theories and invented many theories which were later proven to be accurate. He figured out that the total area of a circle was the square of the radius of the circle multiplied by pi or π. He did not rest at that. He went on to confirm that the area covered by a straight line and a parabola was 4/3 times that of the area of an equivalent inscribed triangle.
4. Archimedes was Fascinated with Infinitesimal Numbers
Although fractions and decimals were not so popular or well formed back in the third century B.C., Archimedes managed to dabble in complicated calculations. His way of working with infinitesimal numbers was very similar to how calculus is done today. He had successfully figured out the square root of 3. Although he did not set the value at 1.7320508, he said that it would be between 1.7320261 and 1.7320512, which is extremely close.
5. Genius Inventor
If Syracuse or the king needed something, if the army needed help or if he had to defend his city, he would come up with unique solution. Such needs lead to the development of Archimedes’ screw, Archimedes’ claw and many other minor and major devices, as well as strategies, that were for the welfare of the city, the people and of course the king.