Heron of Alexandria | |
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| Ἥρων | |
 17th-century German depiction of Heron | |
| Citizenship | Alexandria, Roman Egypt |
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Hero of Alexandria (/ˈhɪəroʊ/; ‹See Tfd›Greek: Ἥρων[a] ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Hērōn hò Alexandreús, also known as Heron of Alexandria /ˈhɛrən/; probably 1st or 2nd century AD) was a Greek mathematician and engineer who was active in Alexandria in Egypt during the Roman era. He has been described as the greatest experimentalist of antiquity and a representative of the Hellenistic scientific tradition.[1][2]
Hero published a well-recognized description of a steam-powered device called an aeolipile, also known as "Hero's engine". Among his most famous inventions was a windwheel, constituting the earliest instance of wind harnessing on land.[3][4] In his work Mechanics, he described pantographs.[5] Some of his ideas were derived from the works of Ctesibius.
In mathematics, he wrote a commentary on Euclid's Elements and a work on applied geometry known as the Metrica. He is mostly remembered for Heron's formula; a way to calculate the area of a triangle using only the lengths of its sides.[6]
Much of Hero's original writings and designs have been lost, but some of his works were preserved in manuscripts from the Byzantine Empire and, to a lesser extent, in Latin or Arabic translations.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Abbott, David, ed. (1986) [1985]. "Hero of Alexandria". The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists. New York: Peter Bedrick Books. p. 81.
Hero of Alexandria lived c. AD 60, variously described as an Egyptian scientist and a Greek engineer, was the greatest experimentalist of antiquity.
- ^ Boas, Marie (1949). "Hero's Pneumatica: A Study of Its Transmission and Influence". Isis. 40 (1): 38 and supra.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
drachmannwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
lohrmannwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ceccarelli, Marco (2007). Distinguished Figures in Mechanism and Machine Science: Their Contributions and Legacies. Springer. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-4020-6366-4.
- ^ Tybjerg, Karin (December 2004). "Hero of Alexandria's Mechanical Geometry". Apeiron. 37 (4): 29–56. doi:10.1515/APEIRON.2004.37.4.29. ISSN 2156-7093.