During his life, Archimedes made some very important discoveries that were way ahead of his time. His, only tools: a compass, a ruler, and his mind...

Archimedean Screw-

Archimedes invented his famous screw to lift water out of its source and transport it uphill. The achimedean screw is basically a screw that is inside of a tube with flat, broad threads. When it turns, the item being transported is draw up the inside and is deposited at the top (see video). It is still used today in factories for transporting materials and in agricultural areas for getting water.



The Compound Pulley-

Archimedes is credited to have invented the compound pulley. A pulley is used to increase the force and direction applied on an object. In Archimedes's day, the pulleys the existed had only one wheel, Archimedes knew that this only redirected the force applied. On a pulley with a single wheel, the amount of force to move an object has to be equivalent to the object's weight. With a compound pulley, there is more than one wheel and the force is amplified. Archimedes demonstrated this to King Heiron II by using a compound pulley and only his strength to move a ship.

Catapults-

It is said that during the Siege of Syracuse, Archimedes devised plans for different types of catapults, that were so accurate that they were said to have flung an arrow through the slit in a mans visor from150 yards! Not all of the catapults flung arrows, some flung stones. A huge improvement was made in the technology of the systems to power that catapults. Archimedes used torsion springs. A torsion spring is a bundle of twisted rope. See the video to discover the power behind something as simple as rope.