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The personality and inventions of Archimedes of Syracuse

Archimedes of Syracuse
The death of Archimedes. Copy of an
ancient mosaic, 16th century

Important presentations by renowned scientists were presented during the three-day international symposium held on 10-12 September 2007 in Patras on "Archimedes of Syracuse - Two-way cultural influences of Western Greece, Ionian Islands, Apulia and Sicily" through history. The symposium was organized by the Institute of Culture and Quality of Life (IPOPOIZ) in collaboration with the Region of Western Greece, at the Conference and Cultural Center of the University of Patras.

The work of the conference began with the presentation of the internationally renowned emeritus professor of the Metsovi Technical University, Theodosi Tassios who referred to the multidimensionality of Archimedes' intellect, which shaped mathematical science not only, but also its influence over time.


Th. Tassios: "Archimedes' inventions proved with successful experiments"

On the subject of the presentation "The Man, the Scientist, the Engineer" Mr. Tassios began with a brief reference to the main characteristics of the personality of Archimedes who studied, as he characteristically stated in Alexandria - capital of the Hellenistic world at that time - and then sent to his teachers the results of his mathematical research.

Professor Tassios pointed out that Archimedes then became autonomous after soon surpassing his teachers and opened new avenues of great epistemological importance, introducing for the first time in the history of science the possibility of inductive production of knowledge and proofs of geometric theorems through mechanical analogs. At the same time, as he said, "Archimedes was a great engineer, to whom various mechanisms are attributed: such as the hydraulic clock, the helical pump, the defense cranes but also the mirrors for the combustion of the Roman fleet and the steam-cannon- although for the latest inventions no texts of Archimedes himself are preserved".

The distinguished speaker did not fail to mention the series of older great figures such as: Proclus Heron, Petrarch Leonardo da Vinci, etc., who refer in detail to the inventions of Archimedes and suggest modern applications.
Finally, he spoke about the extremely successful large-scale experiments of the late Dr. I. Sakas and at this point he called, Dr. N. Economidis who projected cinematic documents from the achievements of the researcher Sakas who managed using the method of Archimedes's inventions the method of mirrors and steam boiler to burn a "ship" and achieve a shot with the steam cannon.

"Antidote" to natural disasters would be Archimedes… if he had a computer

Then Professor Chris Rorres (University of Persylvania) made an interesting presentation with the original title: "If Archimedes had a computer: Why do ships, icebergs and buildings tilt and overturn?"

In the context of his presentation, Prof. Rorres referred to the Archimedes' principle contained in his work "On Floating Bodies", which became the foundation of modern shipbuilding. As the professor explained, the time that Archimedes lived, with the limited geometric tools it offered, allowed the Archimedes's mind to study only certain types of floats.

Twenty-three centuries later, Archimedes' creative work was transferred to the 21st century with the use of advanced computer and graphical systems and applied to new phenomena. What happens e.g. in a building, when the ground liquefies during an earthquake? Or when an iceberg melts slowly, does it suddenly destabilize? Such violent phenomena are being studied today by Disaster Theory, a field that Archimedes would surely have started if he had a computer, Professor Rorres argued.

Professor I. Christianidis (University of Athens) spoke about the famous palimpsest of Archimedes that has sparked the latest storm of publications. Palimpsest is the latest discovery of Archimedes. These are some of the works of the great mathematician on parchment, dating to the 3rd c. e.g. in code format. It is known that an anonymous Christian writer of the 12th c. A.D. disassembled the code, rinsed the letters, folded the parchments and wrote a functional text on them. Mr. Christianidis referred to how the reading of the text was achieved with the use of digital processing, visible and ultraviolet light and also X-rays.

A reference to the formulation of the fundamental theorems in relation to the center of gravity of flat geometric shapes and solids was reported by prof. Th. Chondros (University of Patras) in his presentation on: "Archimedes and the beginnings of Design Theory".
Mr. Chondros pointed out that Archimedes was a wonderful astronomer and the founder of statics and hydrostatics, while the designs of his machines fascinated later writers. Referring to Archimedes-engineer, Mr. Chondros said characteristically: "Archimedes systematized the design of simple machines and the study of their functions, while developing a strict theory of levers and the kinetic of the screw. His work contains a set of specific principles on which design can be based as a science that uses mathematics and logic".

Monument to Archimedes

Paolo Daniele Scirpo (University of Athens) impressed both for the presentation of the research and for his perfect Greek, who spoke on the topic: "In the footsteps of the tomb of Archimedes in Syracuse". Mr. Scirpo made a brief reference to the history of the hitherto ineffective search for the tomb of Archimedes, a subject that has fascinated many researchers and is closely linked to the general problem of the ancient topography of Syracuse. Finally, he addressed a proposal for the delegates to sign first and then make a systematic effort to build a large monument to Archimedes in Syracuse.

The Archimedes hydraulic clock at the Museum of Science and Technology in Thessaloniki

On the subject: "The possibility of construction and operation of the hydraulic clock of Archimedes," was presented the lecture of D. Kriaris (Thessaloniki), in which it develops that the specific clock he manufactured comes from a monumental clock at least four meters high, whose manufacturer is said to be to be Archimedes. His work was based on the sources of three surviving manuscripts describing its mechanism.

The watch as mentioned is not a type of hourglass, but a complete watch mechanism, which instead of the current spring for its movement, uses the free fall of water. "It is not known if there was an ancient automatic machine related to it. Its operation is based on natural principles such as hydrostatic pressure, buoyancy, gravity, free fall, and uses levers and pulleys for its full operation. In the model he built and has dimensions 2100x500x500 mm, he tried to observe the construction methods and materials that were in use in the time of Archimedes. This construction took place in September 2001 and is located in the Museum of Science and Technology in Thessaloniki».


Edited and translated by Theodoros Paschos 

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