Herman Ch. 7-8 Flashcards
Who was the first director of the Great Library of Alexandria?
Demetrius of Phaleron
Describe the contributions of Herophilus to medicine
He discovered that the brain is the center of the central nervous system, and helped create standard medical vocabulary. His main contribution was the study of the anatomy, although most of his works burned up with the Great Library.
How did Aristarchus of Samos transform astronomy?
After observing a solar eclipse, he used mathematics to propose a heliocentric theory of astronomy and that the earth rotates around it’s axis every 24 hours. He makes calculations of the diameter of the sun, and the distance from the sun to the earth. Unfortunatey, Aristotelians, did not believe his claims
Describe the contributions of Euclid to Geometry
He reasoned that math was from a divine source and was a direct insight into God, which is a very Platonic idea. However, he used Aristotelian logic and proofs to in his book Elements, one of the most popular books of the ancient world
Describe the contributions of Eratosthenes to geography
He became the director of the Great Library. He described the diameter of the earth with remarkable detail using sun dails. He also postulated the existance of a continent in the Western Hemisphere and the possibility of sailing to India from Spain, although his distance was off. He created a world map with meridians and latitudes
In what way to Ctesibius lead a conceptual revolution?
Ctesibius conducted military technology research. He created a compressed air catapult and other more powerful siege weapons. It went against Plato (because it’s not pure philosophy, just creating something purely material), and Aristotle (it didn’t lead to people discovering new things about nature, just working with what they already know). He revolutionized mechanics by constantly working to calculate shot angles and how fast things would fall. He also wrote a treatise on hydraulics, and created a working water clock
Describe Archimedes contributions
He created the Archimedes water screw, which helped irrigate the Nile River Delta. He invented hydrostatics, or the study of fluids at rest. He laid out treatises on The Quadrature of a Parabola, Sphere and Cylinder, Spiral LInes, and laid out the beginnings for calculus and used the concept of infinity
