Zeus Bolt News Flash

The Greek News Report

By: Livius Andronicus,
261 B.C.
Father of Roman literature

September 28,

Archimedes and the Golden Crown

Eureka! I have found it! The
naked man was running around the
street, shouting loudly, oblivious to
the other people around him. He was
overflowing with joy and ecstasy.
What had he found? you may ask.
You will see why the fascinating man I
have described to you, Archimedes,
went crazy over his new idea which I
believe will be a lasting contribution to
the world of science for years to
come: Archimedes Principle.
Our newly elected king, Hiero II,
had given his fellow cousin,
Archimedes, a mystery to solve with
his wonderful ideas and inventions.
The king was not sure if the crown he
asked a goldsmith to create was pure
gold, or made with metal impurities.
He asked Archimedes to find a way to
see if the gold was real or false.
Archimedes challenge began.

Interview: Livius and Archimedes

I went home that
evening, pondering over the
kings plight. For a week, I
searched for the answer. I had
little hope by the end of the
week, but I knew my answer
would come eventually,
Archimedes explained.
Livius: And how exactly,
did you find your answer?
Archimedes continued:
The very next day, I went to
the Syracusian Public Baths, for
my regular cleansing and

purification ritual. On my final

dip, I lowered myself slowly into
the tub. Water began spilling
over the sides. Yes! Yes! I have
found the answer! I thought to
myself. It all made sense!
Livius: What made
sense?
Archimedes: Well, I
realized in that instant that I
could see if there was a
difference in volume between
the crown and an equal weight
of a genuine gold nugget by
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finding their volume in water!
The importance of my discovery
was that I could find the volume
of the crown without harming
it.
Livius: And why did you
need to find the volume?
Archimedes: I knew that
if the goldsmith cheated he
would have kept some of the
gold and replace some of the
crowns gold with silver or a
lighter metal. Silver has less
density than gold, and less
density means it would have to
be a larger amount to equal the
same weight. Volume is the
space inside and object, so that
is what I am referring to when I
say a larger amount. It means
that it has a greater volume.
Livius: How did that
discovery relate to the water
displacement idea?
Archimedes: Hang on! I
was getting to that point! The
more volume an object has, the
more the water will be
displaced. When you put an
object in a bowl with water, you
will see that the water level will
rise, making room for the object
in the water.
Livius: Let me guess
you planned an experiment to
test the crowns volume in a tub
of water!
Archimedes: Yes, indeed.
As a pretest, I compared a block
of silver and gold of equal
weight in a tub of water. Now,
as you can infer, the block of
silver would have to be bigger
than the block of gold to have
the same weight. And that is

because it is less dense. And

when an object has less density,
it has less weight per space.
Livius: Ah, I see.
Archimedes: I predicted
that if the golden crown had
silver or other metal impurities,
it would have more volume,
therefore displacing more water
than real gold. In simpler terms,
the crown would have to be
bigger (and have more volume)
than originally planned, because
more silver would have to be
used to equal the right weight.
This volume can be found in
water.
Livius: Looks like you
outsmarted that lying monster!
Recently, the king has
announced that the goldsmith
was proven guilty!
Archimedes: Yes he has.
The crown displaced more water
than the block of true gold. My
experiment results showed that
the goldsmith cheated and used
lighter metal impurities, in order
to save some gold for himself.
Livius: Well done,
Archimedes. I have had a great
time really understanding this
story, with the scientific details.
Thank you for sharing your new
principle with me today.
Archimedes: A pleasure,
Andronicus. Sharing new ideas
is an important part of science.
Together, we can move the
world!