Introduction
Like any science, geometry is closely connected with the outside world and has a significant practical meaning. Geometry is a primary subject of mathematics that studies object forms, sizes, and placements in space. Geometry has been studied for thousands of years and has played an essential role in scientific and technological progress. Archimedes and his discovery while taking a bath is one of the oldest and most renowned legends linked with geometry. The story of Archimedes and his bathtub exemplifies how geometry and the laws of buoyancy, density, and volume are interrelated and how they may be applied to real-world issues.
Eureka: The Story of Archimedes
The story is connected with one of the most significant discoveries of Archimedes, one of the greatest Greek mathematicians, physicists, and astronomers. When the king of Syracuse came to power, he entrusted a gold bullion to a jeweler to be turned into a crown (About Eureka). After the jeweler completed his job and presented it to the king, the king thought something was awry. The monarch suspected the jeweler of duping him by mixing part of the gold with cheaper silver and retaining the rest for himself. Alloying gold with less expensive silver was a typical ruse (Eureka! The Story of Archimedes).
Nevertheless, the king had no way of proving his concerns, so he requested Archimedes to determine whether the crown was composed of pure gold without causing any damage. Archimedes knew that gold and silver had various densities, but no one understood how to calculate the size of an irregularly shaped item such as a crown.
Archimedes decided to take a bath while pondering how to tackle this dilemma. When he climbed into the bathtub, which was nearly complete, he saw that water spilled over the floor, and the more he entered the bathtub, the more water was driven out. He proposed a link between his body volume and the volume of water displaced from the bath.
This inspired him to devise a solution to the king’s quandary. He realized that in this way, he could find out the volume of the crown, and knowing the volume of an object, he could easily calculate its density. Archimedes was so happy with his breakthrough that he leaped from the bath and rushed through the streets, exclaiming, “Eureka!” (Armstrong). This phrase has become so popular that it has become proverbial and is used worldwide.
Conclusion
Since geometry is related to spatial features such as distance, form, size, and the mutual arrangement of figures, Archimedes’ discovery significantly contributed to its development. This achievement resulted in the creation of a method for calculating the volume of irregularly shaped objects. Although this finding in the bath is not directly connected to geometry, they are linked and incorporate the idea of volume, an essential subject in geometry. Volume is a measure of the space filled by a 3D object in geometry, and it is computed by multiplying the area of the object’s base by its height. Archimedes’ unintentional experiment essentially verified this strategy.
This history shows that mathematics, particularly geometry, and other sciences, is much more connected and valuable in everyday life than some might think. Moreover, significant scientific breakthroughs can come from seemingly everyday events and experiences. In addition, it demonstrates how strongly interconnected sciences are among themselves and how a discovery in one area helps to explore and develop another.
Works Cited
“About Eureka!” Bellarmine University. 2023. Web.
“Eureka! The story of Archimedes” The University of Akron. Web.
Armstrong, Richard. “No. 3001: Archimedes to the Rescue” University of Houston. Web.