Psammitēs
E620687
Psammitēs is the ancient Greek title of Archimedes’ treatise commonly known in English as "The Sand Reckoner," in which he develops a system for expressing extremely large numbers to estimate the quantity of sand that could fit in the universe.
Statements (42)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
ancient Greek work
ⓘ
mathematical treatise ⓘ work by Archimedes ⓘ |
| addressedTo | a Hellenistic ruler named Gelon ⓘ |
| aimsToShow | that the number of grains of sand needed to fill the universe is finite and expressible ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | Archimedes’ Sand Reckoner NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWith | Syracuse NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| author | Archimedes NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| contains |
estimates of the size of the Earth
ⓘ
estimates of the size of the Sun ⓘ estimates of the size of the universe ⓘ |
| dedicatesTo | King Gelon II of Syracuse NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| demonstrates | use of a systematic notation for numbers far beyond everyday magnitudes ⓘ |
| develops | system for expressing very large integers ⓘ |
| explains | a method to name numbers up to 10^8 raised to the 10^8 power ⓘ |
| field |
astronomy
ⓘ
mathematics ⓘ |
| focusesOn |
estimation of the number of grains of sand in the universe
ⓘ
representation of extremely large numbers ⓘ |
| genre | mathematical astronomy ⓘ |
| hasForm | letter ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance | early explicit treatment of extremely large finite numbers ⓘ |
| influencedField |
history of mathematics
ⓘ
theory of large numbers ⓘ |
| language | Ancient Greek ⓘ |
| mainSubject |
astronomy
ⓘ
cosmology ⓘ large numbers ⓘ number notation ⓘ |
| period | Hellenistic period NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| preservedIn | medieval manuscript tradition ⓘ |
| relatedWork |
Measurement of a Circle
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
On the Sphere and Cylinder NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| studiedIn |
classics
ⓘ
history of science ⓘ philosophy of mathematics ⓘ |
| timeOfComposition | 3rd century BCE ⓘ |
| titleInGreek | Ψαμμίτης NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| translatedTitle | The Sand Reckoner NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| uses |
place-value style number system
ⓘ
powers of 10^8 ⓘ |
| workOf | Archimedes of Syracuse NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.