ARCHIMEDES

ARCHIMEDES (287-212 BC.) Archimedes was the first scientist to use the power of the lever. This gifted Greek mathematician and inventor once said, "Give me a place to stand and rest my lever on, and I can move the Earth." He also discovered the compound pulley and Archimedes'screw. Archimedes was a brilliant mathematician who helped develop geometry. He discovered the relation between the surface area and volume of a sphere and those of its circumscribing …

…The difference between these two comparisons revealed that the crown was not solid gold. Archimedes was born in Syracuse, Sicily. He lived there most of his life. When the Romans attacked Syracuse, Archimedes invented weapons to defend the city. He is said to have suggested a method of employing mirrors to set enemy ships on fire. After a two year attack the Romans finally entered the city, and Archimedes was killed in the next battle.