A short story about Archimedes

People have used leverage since ancient times and know how to use it skillfully. When the pyramids were built in Egypt, slaves used levers to pry up heavy stones. The shipbuilder used a lever to erect a mast on the ship. People use shaduf to get water from wells and so on. But why can leverage do this? No one could explain the lever law before Archimedes discovered it. At that time, when talking about this issue, some philosophers insisted that it was "magic". Archimedes denied what "magic" it was. He knows that there are always natural reasons for all kinds of phenomena in nature. Lever also has its natural reasons, and he is determined to explain it. After repeated observation, experiment and calculation, Archimedes finally established the law of lever balance. That is, "the arm of force is inversely proportional to the force (weight)." In other words, it is: how many times is the small weight and how many times should the long arm be the short arm. After Archimedes established the lever law, he concluded that any heavy object can be lifted with little force as long as the appropriate lever length can be obtained. It is said that he once said such grandiloquence:

"Give me a fulcrum and I can lift the earth!"

King Syracuse heard this and said to Archimedes, "In the name of Zeus (Zeus is the king of gods in Greek mythology, in charge of heaven, thunder, electricity and rain), what you said is really strange, Archimedes!" After Archimedes explained the characteristics of lever to the king, the king said, "Where can I find a fulcrum to lift the earth?"

"There is no such fulcrum." Archimedes replied.

"So, it is impossible to convince people of the divine power of mechanics?" Said the king.

"No, no, you misunderstood, your majesty. I can give you other examples. " Archimedes said.

The king said, "You are too boastful! You can help me push the same heavy thing and see what you say. " At that time, the king had a problem, which was to build a very big ship for the king of Egypt. After the ship was built, the whole city of Syracuse was mobilized, and it was impossible to push it into the water. Archimedes said, "Well, I'll push the boat for you."

After Archimedes left the king, he used the principle of lever and pulley to design and manufacture a set of exquisite machinery. When everything was ready, Archimedes invited the king to watch the ship launch. He gave the end of a thick rope to the king to pull gently. Suddenly, the big ship moved slowly and slipped into the water smoothly. When the king and ministers saw such a miracle, they were as surprised as if they were watching magic! So the king persuaded Archimedes and issued a notice to the whole country: "From now on, no matter what Archimedes says, you must believe him ..."