[extropy-chat] akerue

[Spike]

King Heiron asked Archimedes if he could determine if 
his new crown were pure gold.  While bathing, he realized
that the water he displaced would have the same mass as 
his body; therefore, he could measure the water displaced 
by the crown against that displaced by an equal amount 
of gold, determined that the king had indeed been 
defrauded by his jeweler, streaked, shouting eureka! 
and you know the story.

But it occurred to me that a number of small, nearly invisible
air bubbles may have adhered to the irregular surfaces of
the crown, plus it likely had greater surface area than the 
pure lump of gold, thus making the crown displace more water
than it would otherwise.  Archimedes might have been
responsible for getting a possibly honest man executed.

Akerue!

spike