Ctesibius (working 285 BC - 222 BC) of Alexandria was second only to Archimedes as an inventor and mathematician. His lost work on the theory of elasticity of air ''On pneumatics'' still earns him the title of father of pneumatics, for the first treatises on the science of compressed air and its uses in pumps and even a cannon, are his. Like all his other works, however, it has not survived. Even his ''Memorabilia,'' a compilation of his research, cited by Athenaeus, is lost. Ctesibius was probably the first head of the Musaeum. Unfortunately, very little is known of his life and work. He is said (by Diogenes Laertius?) to have started life as a barber who made a clever counterweighted adjustable mirror. He invented a water organ and an improvement on the water clock, called a clepsydra, that kept more accurate time than any clock invented until the 17th century, when the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens showed how a pendulum could be used to regulate a clock. The principle of the siphon has been attributed to him. In his age Ctesibius was miserably poor, if Diogenes Laertius can be trusted, who recounts how the generous philosopher Arcesilaus, "when he had gone to visit Ctesibius who was ill, seeing him in great distress from want, he secretly slipped his purse under his pillow; and when Ctesibius found it, 'This,' said he, 'is the amusement of Arcesilaus.'" [http://classicpersuasion.org/pw/diogenes/dlarcesilaus.htm] His work is chronicled by Vitruvius, Athenaeus,and Philo of Byzantium who repeatedly mentions him, adding, with an almost audible sigh, that the first mechanicians had the advantage of being under kings who loved fame and supported the arts. Proclus, the commentator on Euclid, and Hero of Alexandria, the last of the engineers of antiquity, also mention him. == External link == *[http://www.tmth.edu.gr/en/aet/1/31.html Ancient Greek Scientists: Ctesibius] Ancient mathematicians Ancient Greeks
==Hero of Byzantium???== I don't know much about this subject, so I'm not editing the Ctesibius article, but I believe the reference to '[http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:ws24sRKosYoJ:www.doaks.org/Siegecraft.pdf+proclus+%22heron+of+byzantium%22&hl=en&lr=lang_en%7Clang_ja Hero of Byzantium]' is meant be [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heron_of_Alexandria Hero of Alexandria]. As far as I can tell, Hero of Byzantium lived six hundred years after Proclus. However, based on the summaries from a [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=lang_en%7Clang_ja&ie=UTF-8&q=proclus+%22hero+of+alexandria%22&btnG=Search&lr=lang_en%7Clang_ja google search], Proclus did seem to comment on Hero of Alexandria. User:GalanM 23:34, 7 Jul 2004 (UTC) : I don't know much about Ctesibius either, but I think you are right (based on a quick read of some classical dictionaries), and have edited it accordingly. (that was User:Wombat btw)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Ctesibius:
Ctesibius
Ctesibius
Ctesibius_(crater)
Ctesibius
Ctesibius (working 285 BC - 222 BC) of Alexandria was second only to Archimedes as an inventor and mathematician. His lost work on the theory of elasticity of air ''On pneumatics'' still earns him the title of father of pneumatics, for the first treatises on the science of compressed air and its uses in pumps and even a cannon, are his. Like all his other works, however, it has not survived. Even his ''Memorabilia,'' a compilation of his research, cited by Athenaeus, is lost. Ctesibius was probably the first head of the Musaeum. Unfortunately, very little is known of his life and work. He is said (by Diogenes Laertius?) to have started life as a barber who made a clever counterweighted adjustable mirror. He invented a water organ and an improvement on the water clock, called a clepsydra, that kept more accurate time than any clock invented until the 17th century, when the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens showed how a pendulum could be used to regulate a clock. The principle of the siphon has been attributed to him. In his age Ctesibius was miserably poor, if Diogenes Laertius can be trusted, who recounts how the generous philosopher Arcesilaus, "when he had gone to visit Ctesibius who was ill, seeing him in great distress from want, he secretly slipped his purse under his pillow; and when Ctesibius found it, 'This,' said he, 'is the amusement of Arcesilaus.'" [http://classicpersuasion.org/pw/diogenes/dlarcesilaus.htm] His work is chronicled by Vitruvius, Athenaeus,and Philo of Byzantium who repeatedly mentions him, adding, with an almost audible sigh, that the first mechanicians had the advantage of being under kings who loved fame and supported the arts. Proclus, the commentator on Euclid, and Hero of Alexandria, the last of the engineers of antiquity, also mention him. == External link == *[http://www.tmth.edu.gr/en/aet/1/31.html Ancient Greek Scientists: Ctesibius] Ancient mathematicians Ancient Greeks
Ctesibius
==Hero of Byzantium???== I don't know much about this subject, so I'm not editing the Ctesibius article, but I believe the reference to '[http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:ws24sRKosYoJ:www.doaks.org/Siegecraft.pdf+proclus+%22heron+of+byzantium%22&hl=en&lr=lang_en%7Clang_ja Hero of Byzantium]' is meant be [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heron_of_Alexandria Hero of Alexandria]. As far as I can tell, Hero of Byzantium lived six hundred years after Proclus. However, based on the summaries from a [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=lang_en%7Clang_ja&ie=UTF-8&q=proclus+%22hero+of+alexandria%22&btnG=Search&lr=lang_en%7Clang_ja google search], Proclus did seem to comment on Hero of Alexandria. User:GalanM 23:34, 7 Jul 2004 (UTC) : I don't know much about Ctesibius either, but I think you are right (based on a quick read of some classical dictionaries), and have edited it accordingly. (that was User:Wombat btw)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
C
CA | CB | CD | CE | CF | CG | CH | CI | CJ | CK | CL | CM | CN | CO | CP | CR | CS | CT | CU | CW | CX | CY | CZ |Words begining with Ctesibius:
Ctesibius
Ctesibius
Ctesibius_(crater)
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