Archimedes, the Center of Gravity, and the First Law of Mechanics: The Law of the Lever - Softcover

Assis, Andr� Koch Torres

9780986492648: Archimedes, the Center of Gravity, and the First Law of Mechanics: The Law of the Lever

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0986492647 ISBN 13: 9780986492648

Publisher: Apeiron, 2010

Archimedes, the Center of Gravity, and the First Law of Mechanics: The Law of the Lever deals with the most fundamental aspects of physics. The book describes the main events in the life of Archimedes and the content of his works. It goes on to discuss a large number of experiments relating to the equilibrium of suspended bodies under the influence of Earth's gravitational force. All experiments are clearly described and performed with simple, inexpensive materials. These experiments lead to a clear conceptual definition of the center of gravity of material bodies and illustrate practical procedures for locating it precisely. The conditions of stable, neutral, and unstable equilibrium are analyzed. Many equilibrium toys and games are described and explained. Historical aspects of the concept are presented, together with the theoretical values of center of gravity obtained by Archimedes. The book also explains how to build and calibrate precise balances and levers. Several experiments are performed leading to a mathematical definition of the center of gravity. These experiments are compatible with the law of the lever, the oldest law of mechanics. Consequences of this law and different explanations of it are described at the end of the book, together with an exhaustive analysis of the works of Euclid and Archimedes.

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About the Author:

Andre Koch Torres Assis was born in Brazil (1962) and educated at the University of Campinas – UNICAMP, BS (1983), PhD (1987). He spent the academic year of 1988 in England with a post-doctoral position at the Culham Laboratory (United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority). He spent one year in 1991-92 as a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Electromagnetics Research of Northeastern University (Boston, USA). From August 2001 to November 2002, and from February to May 2009, he worked at the Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Hamburg University (Hamburg, Germany) with research fellowships awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany. He is the author of Weber’s Electrodynamics (1994), Relational Mechanics (1999), Inductance and Force Calculations in Electrical Circuits (with M.A. Bueno, 2001), The Electric Force of a Current (with J. A. Hernandes, 2007), Archimedes, the Center of Gravity, and the First Law of Mechanics (2008), and The Experimental and Historical Foundations of Electricity (2010). He has been professor of physics at UNICAMP since 1989, working on the foundations of electromagnetism, gravitation, and cosmology.

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