Archimedes (287 BC – 212 BC) Eureka! Born in Syracuse, Sicily, then a Greek citystate, Archimedes was not only an inventor of many important devices including the water screw for raising water to irrigate the fields, but he was also an important figure in the world of mathematics throughout his life. Probably most famous for discovering mass displacement with water in a bathtub, Archimedes has had many other great accomplishments in mathematics. Although his method to find the volume of a curve revolved around an axis- originally called “Method of Exhaustion”- is now outdated, its great effects on integral calculus are still evident today.
Real World Application The measurement of volume is necessary in every aspect of life, but standard volume equations only encompass standard shapes- spheres, cubes, pyramids, etc. Volume of solid revolution allows mathematicians to find the volume of obscure objects using equations and actual measurements. This technique is extended with the “washer method”- an equation used to find the volume of a solid with a portion cut out of the center. Moreover, the arc length equation allows for the ability to find the length, and ultimately the surface area- of a complex curve and shape within certain bounds which is useful in real life to find the length and surface area of an object too big for physical measurement- such as a planet.
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