
Galileo bad, Archimedes good
Opinionated History of Mathematics
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The Three Parameters of Floating Paraboloids
There are three parameters that are fundamental to the state of this system. The equilibrium conditions of floating paraboloids depend on these three parameters in highly non-trivial ways. Archimedes gives detailed, exact quantitative predictions of the flotation behavior of paraboloids. He doesn't mention applications like icebergs and so on, but he has all the mathematics for that.
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