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The Genius of Archimedes -- 23 Centuries of Influence on Mathematics, Science and Engineering pp 227–249Cite as

The Heritage of Archimedes in Ship Hydrostatics: 2000 Years from Theories to Applications

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Part of the book series: History of Mechanism and Machine Science ((HMMS,volume 11))

Abstract

Archimedes left to posterity his famous treatise “On Floating Bodies”, which establishes the physical foundations for the floatability and stability of ships and other maritime objects. Yet since this treatise was long lost and also simply ignored by practitioners, it took many centuries before Archimedes’ brilliant insights were actually applied in ship design and ship safety assessment. This article traces the tedious acceptance of Archimedes’ principles of hydrostatics and stability in practical applications. It will document important milestones and explain how this knowledge was passed down through the centuries and ultimately spread into ship design practice.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, Germany

    Horst Nowacki

  2. Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Horst Nowacki

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  1. Horst Nowacki
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Correspondence to Horst Nowacki .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece

    S. A. Paipetis

  2. Dipto. Meccanica, Strutture,, Ambiente e Territorio (DiMSAT), Università Cassino, Via G. di Biasio 43, Cassino, 03043, Italy

    Marco Ceccarelli

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Nowacki, H. (2010). The Heritage of Archimedes in Ship Hydrostatics: 2000 Years from Theories to Applications. In: Paipetis, S., Ceccarelli, M. (eds) The Genius of Archimedes -- 23 Centuries of Influence on Mathematics, Science and Engineering. History of Mechanism and Machine Science, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9091-1_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9091-1_16

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  • Online ISBN: 978-90-481-9091-1

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