Archimedes and the Crown

Archimedes and the Crown

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I designed the figures in Sculptris and then transferred them to 3D Builder to level them for printing; since I am very new at this and it is my first time using 3D Builder, please let me know if the file format doesn't work or it has other problems. Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287 – 212 BC) was one of the greatest mathematicians and scientists who ever lived. He derived an accurate approximation of pi and discovered forumae for calculating the area of a circle, the surface area of a sphere, the volume of a sphere, and the area under a parabola. His many inventions, like cranes that defended his native Syracuse from attacking warships by plucking them out of the water, became legendary. Archimedes famously discovered the law of buoyancy (aka <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes%27_principle">Archimedes' Principle</a>) whilst bathing. The king of Syracuse had challenged him to figure out, with all of his scientific and mathematical skill, how to tell if a newly made crown consisted of pure gold, or cheaper metal coated with gold, without damaging the crown. Archimedes could weigh the crown. He knew how much a unit of gold weighed and how much a unit of silver or iron weighed. What he couldn't tell, without melting it down and turning it into a solid lump, was how big the crown actually was. Legend has it that Archimedes was pondering the problem when he got into the bath, observed how his body displaced the bath water, making the level rise, and got so excited by his discovery that he leapt out of the bath and ran into the streets shouting "Eureka!" without remembering to first put on his clothes. Archimedes sometimes forgot little details like pants. Archimedes' Principle is straightforward: <i>Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.</i> As a practical matter, Archimedes could submerge the crown in water, measure the displacement, and find the volume. Then he compared the weight per unit to the known weight of gold, and behold, the crown was too light--the king's goldsmith had indeed used silver within, stealing the extra gold. The story is probably at least partly myth, as most stories about Archimedes are, but his accomplishments were real and remain foundational to modern science and math. Figurine and playset are intended for children learning math or adult fans of Archimedes.

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