Archimedes died in 212 BC, when Syracuse was sacked by the Romans. Legend holds that he was drawing figures in the sand. “Don’t disturb my circles,” he supposedly told the soldier who killed ...

Archimedes saw the water level change as he dipped into the tub and, in a flash of insight, realized he could use the same phenomenon to test the purity of gold.

Archimedes wrote about harnessing the Sun’s energy to create a death ray. And Sener wanted in. Sener has since earned multiple medals for his attempt to bring the ancient device to life.

Scientists have speculated about how Archimedes’ death ray purportedly harnessed sunlight to burn ships. Now, a teen may have evidence the device was plausible.

(On the basis of Archimedes’ principle, the markings had been calibrated to register the weight of the water displaced, easily calculated from water’s known weight by volume: 62.4 Ibs. per cu ...