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Author | Archimedes |
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Language | Ancient Greek |
Genre | Physics, Geometry |
On the Equilibrium of Planes (Ancient Greek: Περὶ ἐπιπέδων ἱσορροπιῶν, romanized: perí epipédōn isorropiôn) is a treatise by Archimedes in two books. The first book contains a proof of the law of the lever and culminates with propositions on the centre of gravity of the triangle and the trapezium.[1][2] The second book, which contains ten propositions, examines the centres of gravity of parabolic segments.[1]
According to Pappus of Alexandria, Archimedes' work on levers and his understanding of mechanical advantage caused him to say: "Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth" (Ancient Greek: δός μοί ποῦ στῶ καὶ κινῶ τὴν γῆν, romanized: dṓs moi poû stṓ kaí kinô tḗn gên), though other ancient testimonia are ambiguous regarding the context of the saying.[3][4]