Object Details
- Baker, Richard P.
- Description
- In the fifth century B.C.E., Archytas, a friend of the philosopher Plato and a leader in the city of Tarentum (then a Greek territory, now in southern Italy), took an interest in such subjects as mathematics, astronomy, and music. One problem he addressed was that of finding the ratio of two lengths that would be the cube root of a given ratio of lengths. This would allow one to find, for example, a cube with twice the volume of a given cube.
- To solve this problem, Archytas devised a construction that combined three surfaces of revolution – a cone, a half-cylinder, and a half-torus with an inner diameter of zero. This wire model with a wooden base illustrates the proof underlying Archytas’ theorem.
- A tag on the model reads: No. 285 s (/) Archytas. The proof. One of (/) the earliest known.
- Heath gives a modern version of Archytas’ proof. See also MA.211257.096.
- References:
- R. P. Baker, Mathematical Models, Iowa City, Iowa, 1931, p. 4.
- Thomas Heath, A History of Greek Mathematics, vol. 1, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1921, pp. 213-216.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Gift of Frances E. Baker
- ca 1920-1930
- ID Number
- MA.211257.097
- accession number
- 211257
- catalog number
- 211257.097
- Object Name
- geometric model
- Physical Description
- wood (overall material)
- metal (overall material)
- paper (overall material)
- soldered.stuck into holes. (overall production method/technique)
- Measurements
- average spatial: 6.8 cm x 15.1 cm x 15 cm; 2 11/16 in x 5 15/16 in x 5 29/32 in
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Mathematics
- Science & Mathematics
- National Museum of American History
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Record ID
- nmah_1087320
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a9-2a55-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
