Page 23 - Inventions - A Visual Encyclopedia (DK - Smithsonian)

TESTING GOLD FOR A KING ▲ EUREKA—I’VE GOT IT! EARLY BREAKTHROUGHS
The king of Syracuse suspected his new crown was not pure gold and Archimedes was the first to discover
that when an object is submerged, it
wanted it tested. Archimedes put the crown into a tub of water, noting loses weight equal to the amount of
that it displaced a greater volume of water than a piece of gold of the fluid it displaces. This insight is said
same weight. This showed the crown contained other, less dense metals. to have come to him in his bath.

214 bce c. 212 bce 75 bce
Roman forces The Romans capture and A Roman While visiting Sicily, the famous
begin to destroy Syracuse. They kill attacks Roman writer Cicero finds that
lay siege Archimedes, although they had Archimedes Archimedes’ elaborate tomb
to Syracuse. been ordered not to harm him. has fallen into disrepair, and
he has it restored.

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