Chapter 5, Archimedes and King Heiro's Crown Summary and Analysis

Hiero was impressed by Archimedes's feat. One day he ordered a new gold crown, but it fit too comfortably on his head; he was worried that it contained silver. When Hiero confronted the goldsmith, he promised he wouldn't cheat the king. Hiero then asks Archimedes to figure out whether his crown is solid gold. Archimedes took the crown home and spent days staring at it, doing nothing else. He didn't bathe during this time until his slaves forced him into the water. Archimedes realized that he displaced a certain amount of water.

At that moment, he shouted and ran down the street yelling, "Eureka!" which means "I have found it!" After coming back, he filled a jar with water and put the crown in it, measuring how much water spilled out...