Archimedes: the Man Who Invented the Death Ray is an illustrated chapter book that explains the life and work of the Greek scientist (287–212 BC). Rayner explains that Archimedes lived in Sicily, in Syracuse, and his inventions (such as the Death Ray of the title) staved off the Roman conquest of Sicily for two years. 

The chapters describe his discovery of fundamental principles of physics and maths: levers, pulleys, pi, the screw pump, the principle named after him (Archimedes’ principle; then two military applications, his claw and his death ray (related to lasers). Each of these is explained, and illustrated, in a narrative given to his young son by the Roman general who finally overcame Sicily. The ingenious narration comes as the admiring tribute by a Roman to a Greek enemy. 

By levering we can lift much greater weights than by straightforward exertion: “Give me a lever long enough and I will move the world,” Archimedes is said to have said. By pulleys, the same only more so. He worked out the proportion of circumference to radius in a circle as 1: 34 approx and used pi to calculate areas of curving surfaces. Lifting again, his screw pump would lift water by bucket and counterweight, a “levertype crane.” His celebrated Principle of displacement was discovered when he observed that the amount of water displaced by varying bodies, including his own, varied according to weight, not simply volume. His “claw” was a siege weapon defending his city against attacking ships. His “death ray” used curved mirrors to aim many rays of sunshine onto a single point.

Rayner points out that Archimedes’ discoveries remain relevant: “His mathematical formulae are still used every day. Levers and cranes and pulleys are used everywhere.” Lasers and odometers use his principles.

Rayner aims to entertain his young readers while delivering mathematical knowledge. The many anecdotes about this important scientist are used to enliven the exposition of some basic principles. There’s the legend, that upon working out his principle of displacement he leapt from his bath and ran outside naked, shouting Eureka! “I have found it!” Not only that, but that he used the principle to detect a fraudulent mixing of gold with iron by a goldsmith. The pictures show his gadgets like the claw in vivid action. The dramatizing and indirections of the telling bring to life the often tortuous way in which Greek ideas entered the Roman mind, and so into the universal science of the modern day. A challenging, quirky example of the reception history of Greek thinkers.