Work
The Sand Reckoner
Overview
The Sand Reckoner (Greek: Ψαμμίτης, Psammites) is a work by Archimedes, an Ancient Greek mathematician of the 3rd century BC, in which he set out to determine an upper bound for the number of grains of sand that fit into the universe. In order to do this, Archimedes had to estimate the size of the universe according to the contemporary model, and invent a way to talk about extremely large numbers.
The work, also known in Latin as Arenarius, is about eight pages long in translation and is addressed to the Syracusan king Gelo II (son of Hiero II). It is considered the most accessible work of Archimedes.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Related ideas
- Ancient Greek
- Archimedes
- Psychology
- Heliocentrism
- Sun
- Syracuse, Sicily
- Universe
- Hermann von Helmholtz
- Aristarchus of Samos
- Earth
- Silt
- Stellar parallax
Place in the tradition
Part of Universe.