Archimedes' Sandbox

WHO CAN SAY where playing in the sand may lead? The figures may wash or blow away, but sometimes the thoughts behind them are eternal. Archimedes often drew figures in the sand. He even counted the grains of sand in the universe to convince his patron, King Gelon of Syracuse, that numbers could be devised adequate to the task.

Through the features on this page, we invite you to explore the sciences (and arts) of exact thought.

"There are some, King Gelon, who think that the number of the sand is infinite in multitude"

The Sand Reckoner

"There are some, King Gelon, who think that the number of the sand is infinite in multitude; and I mean by the sand not only that which exists about Syracuse and the rest of Sicily but also that which is found in every region whether inhabited or uninhabited.

"Again there are some who, without regarding it as infinite, yet think that no number has been named which is great enough to exceed its magnitude. And it is clear that they who hold this view, if they imagined a mass made of sand in other respects as large as the mass of the Earth, including in it all the seas and the hollows of the Earth filled up to a height equal to that of the highest of the mountains, (read more...)

Sand Castles
An electronic treasure of engaging articles about mathematics and mathematicians
Zeno's Corner
The World's All-Time Top 100 Puzzles
Grains of Truth
Timeless ideas explored interactively
Surfing
The top math and computing sites reviewed
Outside the Box
Learn about number and space from aliens


Last Modified:  Friday 20 April 2007