Category Discoveries

                   Archimedes was a Greek mathematician who lived between about 287 and 212BC. Unlike many Greek philosophers of the time, Archimedes believed in making experiments to prove that his theories worked. He made practical inventions, such as the Archimedean screw which is still used today to lift water for irrigation. He also worked out the laws which govern the use of levers and pulleys.

                Archimedes is most famous for allegedly leaping out of his bath in excitement shouting ‘Eureka!’ (The Greek for ‘I have found it!’). He did this when he realized that his body displaced a volume of water equal to its own volume.

                Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) built several telescopes and observed the movements of the Moon and planets. He was the first person to discover that the surface of the Moon is rough and cratered, and not smooth as had been supposed for centuries. He also found that he could use the swing of a pendulum to measure time.

               Galileo got into trouble with the authorities when he claimed that the Earth moved around the Sun, rather than the Sun moving around the Earth. This idea was thought to be a threat to biblical teaching, and Galileo was placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life.