The Genius of Archimedes -- 23 Centuries of Influence on Mathematics, Science and Engineering : Proceedings of an International Conference Held at Syracuse, Italy, June 8-10, 2010

Archimedes is held in high esteem by mathematicians, physicists and engineers as one of the most brilliant scientists of all time. These proceedings contain original, unpublished papers with the primary emphasis on the scientific work of Archimedes and his influence on the fields of mathematics, science, and engineering. There are also papers dealing with archaeological aspects and the myths and legends about Archimedes and about the Archimedes Palimpsest. Papers on the following subjects form part of the book: Hydrostatics (buoyancy, fluid pressure and density, stability of floating bodies); Mechanics (levers, pulleys, centers of gravity, laws of equilibrium); Pycnometry (measurement of volume and density); Integral Calculus (Archimedes as the father of the integral calculus, method of exhaustion, approximation of pi, determination of areas and volumes); Mathematical Physics (Archimedes as the father of mathematical physics, Law of the Lever, Law of Buoyancy, Axiomatization of Physics); History of Mathematics and Mechanics (Archimedes’ influence in antiquity, the middle ages, the Renaissance, and modern times; his influence on Leonado da Vinci, Galileo, Newton, and other giants of science and mathematics); Ancient Machines and Mechanisms (catapults, water screws, iron hands, compound pulleys, planetaria, water clocks, celestial globes, the Antikythera Mechanism); Archimedean Solids (their rediscovery in the Rennaisance and their applications in materials science and chemistry); Archimedean Legends (how stories of golden crowns, eureka moments, naked runs, burning mirrors, steam cannons, etc., have influenced us through the ages, whether true or not); The Cattle Problem (how its 18th century rediscovery inspired the study of equations with integer solutions); Teaching the Ideas of Archimedes (how his life and works have influenced the teaching of science, mathematics, and engineering). Indexed in Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Science (CPCI-S) Front Matter....Pages i-x Front Matter....Pages 1-1 An Archimedean Research Theme: The Calculation of the Volume of Cylindrical Groins....Pages 3-15 On Archimedean Roots in Torricelli’s Mechanics....Pages 17-27 Rational Mechanics and Science Rationnelle Unique....Pages 29-43 Archimedes and Caustics: A Twofold Multimedia and Experimental Approach....Pages 45-56 Archimedes’ Quadratures....Pages 57-68 On Archimedes’ Pursuit Concerning Geometrical Analysis....Pages 69-81 Front Matter....Pages 84-84 Simon Stevin and the Rise of Archimedean Mechanics in the Renaissance....Pages 85-111 Archimedes’ Cannons Against the Roman Fleet?....Pages 113-131 V-Belt Winding Along Archimedean Spirals During the Variator Speed Ratio Shift....Pages 133-147 Ancient Motors for Siege Towers....Pages 149-162 From Archimedean Spirals to Screw Mechanisms – A Short Historical Overview....Pages 163-176 The Mechanics of Archimedes Towards Modern Mechanism Design....Pages 177-187 Archimedean Mechanical Knowledge in 17 th Century China....Pages 189-205 Archimedes Arabicus. Assessing Archimedes’ Impact on Arabic Mechanics and Engineering....Pages 207-212 Front Matter....Pages 214-214 The Golden Crown: A Discussion....Pages 215-225 The Heritage of Archimedes in Ship Hydrostatics: 2000 Years from Theories to Applications....Pages 227-249 Notes on the Syrakosia and on Archimedes’ Approach to the Stability of Floating Bodies....Pages 251-264 What Did Archimedes Find at “Eureka” Moment?....Pages 265-276 Floatability and Stability of Ships: 23 Centuries after Archimedes....Pages 277-288 The “Syrakousia” Ship and the Mechanical Knowledge between Syracuse and Alexandria....Pages 289-301 Front Matter....Pages 304-304 Browsing in a Renaissance Philologist’s Toolbox: Archimedes’ Rule....Pages 305-311 The Mystery of Archimedes. Archimedes, Physicist and Mathematician, Anti-Platonic and Anti-Aristotelian Philosopher....Pages 313-322 Archimedes to Eratosthenes: “Method for Mechanical Theorems”....Pages 323-329 Archimedes in Seventeenth Century Philosophy....Pages 331-343 Front Matter....Pages 346-346 Cross-Fertilisation of Science and Technology in the Time of Archimēdēs....Pages 347-359 Archimedes in Ancient Roman World....Pages 361-368 Archimedes: Russian Researches....Pages 369-376 Archimedean Science and the Scientific Revolution....Pages 377-386 Archimedes’ Burning Mirrors: Myth or Reality?....Pages 387-396 The Influence of Archimedes in the Machine Books from the Renaissance to the 19 th Century....Pages 397-409 Archimedes Influence in Science and Engineering....Pages 411-425 Front Matter....Pages 428-428 The Founder-Cult of Hieron II at Akrai: The Rock-Relief from Intagliatella’s Latomy....Pages 429-438 Archimedes: Russian Editions of Works....Pages 439-458 Archimedes in Program on History of Mechanics in Lomonosov Moscow St. University....Pages 459-468 Archimedes Discovers and Inventions in the Russian Education....Pages 469-477 Archimedes in Secondary Schools: A Teaching Proposal for the Math Curriculum....Pages 479-491 Mechanical Advantage: The Archimedean Tradition of Acquiring Geometric Insight form Mechanical Metaphor....Pages 493-506 The Death of Archimedes: A Reassessment....Pages 507-513 Back Matter....Pages 515-515