Archimedes

Archimedes' principle, physical law of buoyancy, discovered by the ancient Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes, stating that any body completely or partially submerged in a fluid (gas or liquid) at rest is acted upon by an upward, or buoyant, force the magnitude of which is equal to the weight of the fluid ...

The correct answer is option 'C', Archimedes.

Archimedes was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer who lived during the 3rd century BC. He made numerous significant contributions to various fields of science and mathematics. One of his most famous discoveries is the Law of Floatation.

The Law of Floatation, also known as Archimedes' principle, states that an object placed in a fluid experiences an upward buoyant force equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces. In simple terms, it explains why objects float or sink in a fluid.

Here is a detailed explanation of Archimedes' discovery of the Law of Floatation:

1. Background and Problem:
During ancient times, Archimedes was given a task by King Hiero II of Syracuse. The king suspected that his goldsmith had cheated him by replacing some of the gold in a crown with a less valuable metal. Archimedes was asked to determine if the crown was made of pure gold or not, without damaging it.

2. Insight and Eureka Moment:
Archimedes was pondering over the problem when he stepped into a bath and noticed the water overflowing. He realized that the water that overflowed from the bath was equal in volume to the part of his body that was submerged. This observation led him to make a crucial connection between the volume of water displaced by an object and the buoyant force acting on it.

3. Experiment and Verification:
To test his hypothesis, Archimedes conducted a series of experiments. He immersed different objects, including a crown made of pure gold, in water and measured the volume of water displaced. By comparing the volume of water displaced by the crown to that of an equal weight of pure gold, he was able to determine whether the crown was made of pure gold or not.

4. Conclusion and Law of Floatation:
Archimedes concluded that if the weight of an object is less than the weight of the fluid it displaces, it will float. Conversely, if the weight of an object is greater than the weight of the fluid it displaces, it will sink. This became known as Archimedes' principle or the Law of Floatation.

Archimedes' discovery of the Law of Floatation not only solved the king's problem but also laid the foundation for understanding buoyancy and the behavior of objects in fluids. His contribution revolutionized the fields of physics and engineering and continues to be relevant to this day.