Overview

"Give me a place to stand," Archimedes is said to have promised, "and I will move the world." In this perhaps apocryphal quote, the Greek mathematician, scientist, and inventor was discussing the principle of the lever and fulcrum, but he could very well have been describing his whole career. In addition to his mathematical studies and his work on buoyancy, Archimedes contributed to knowledge concerning at least three of the five simple machines—winch, pulley, lever, wedge, and screw—known to antiquity. His studies greatly enhanced knowledge concerning the way things work, and his practical applications remain vital today; thus he is aptly named the "father of experimental science."

Background

Born in the Greek town of Syracuse in Sicily, Archimedes (287?-212 B.C.) was related to one of that city's kings...