List of Indian inventions and discoveries: Difference between revisions
restored Panini-Backus Form with better citation |
added crucible steel, iron pillar, and corrosion-resistant iron |
||
Line 54: | Line 54: | ||
* '''[[Coherer|Coherer, iron and mercury]]''': In 1899, the [[Bengali people|Bengali]] physicist [[Jagdish Chandra Bose]] announced the development of an "''iron-mercury-iron coherer with [[telephone]] detector''" in a paper presented at the [[Royal Society]], London.<ref>Bondyopadhyay (1988)</ref> He also later received {{US patent|755840}}, "''Detector for electrical disturbances''" (1904), for a specific [[Electromagnetic radiation|electromagnetic]] receiver. |
* '''[[Coherer|Coherer, iron and mercury]]''': In 1899, the [[Bengali people|Bengali]] physicist [[Jagdish Chandra Bose]] announced the development of an "''iron-mercury-iron coherer with [[telephone]] detector''" in a paper presented at the [[Royal Society]], London.<ref>Bondyopadhyay (1988)</ref> He also later received {{US patent|755840}}, "''Detector for electrical disturbances''" (1904), for a specific [[Electromagnetic radiation|electromagnetic]] receiver. |
||
* '''[[Corrosion]]-resistant [[iron]]''': The first corrosion-resistant [[iron]] was used to erect the [[Iron pillar od Delhi]], which has withstood corrosion for over 1,600 years.<ref>R. Balasubramaniam (2000), [http://home.iitk.ac.in/%7Ebala/journalpaper/journal/journalpaper_17.pdf On the Corrosion Resistance of the Delhi Iron Pillar], ''Corrosion Science'' '''42''': 2103-29</ref> |
|||
* '''[[Cotton|Cotton, cultivation of]]''': Cotton was cultivated by the inhabitants of the [[Indus Valley Civilization]] by the [[5th millennium BCE]] - [[4th millennium BCE]].<ref>Stein, page 47</ref> The Indus cotton industry was well developed and some methods used in cotton spinning and fabrication continued to be practiced till the modern Industrialization of India.<ref>Wisseman & Williams, page 127</ref> Well before the [[Common Era]], the use of cotton textiles had spread from India to the [[Mediterranean]] and beyond.<ref>The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. ''cotton''.</ref> |
* '''[[Cotton|Cotton, cultivation of]]''': Cotton was cultivated by the inhabitants of the [[Indus Valley Civilization]] by the [[5th millennium BCE]] - [[4th millennium BCE]].<ref>Stein, page 47</ref> The Indus cotton industry was well developed and some methods used in cotton spinning and fabrication continued to be practiced till the modern Industrialization of India.<ref>Wisseman & Williams, page 127</ref> Well before the [[Common Era]], the use of cotton textiles had spread from India to the [[Mediterranean]] and beyond.<ref>The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. ''cotton''.</ref> |
||
Line 60: | Line 62: | ||
* '''[[Crescograph]]''': The crescograph, a device for measuring growth in [[plant]]s, was invented in the early 20th century by the [[Bengali people|Bengali]] scientist [[Jagdish Chandra Bose]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edsanders.com/bose|title=Jagadis Bose Research on Measurement of Plant Growth|accessdate=2008-08-05}}</ref><ref>Geddes, pages 173-176</ref> |
* '''[[Crescograph]]''': The crescograph, a device for measuring growth in [[plant]]s, was invented in the early 20th century by the [[Bengali people|Bengali]] scientist [[Jagdish Chandra Bose]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edsanders.com/bose|title=Jagadis Bose Research on Measurement of Plant Growth|accessdate=2008-08-05}}</ref><ref>Geddes, pages 173-176</ref> |
||
* '''[[Crucible steel]]''': The first crucible steel was the [[wootz steel]] that originated in India before the beginning of the common era.<ref name=Ranganathan/> Archaeological evidence suggests that this manufacturing process was already in existence in South India well before the Christian era.<ref name=Srinivasan/><ref name=Griffiths/> |
|||
==D== |
==D== |
||
Line 92: | Line 96: | ||
* '''[[Iron]]''': Iron was invented in the [[Vedic period]] of India, around the same time as, but independently of, [[Anatolia]] and the [[Caucasus]]. Archaeological sites in India, such as [[Malhar]], Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila and Lahuradewa in present day [[Uttar Pradesh]] show iron implements in the period between [[1800 BC]] - [[1200 BC]].<ref name=Tewari>[http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/tewari/tewari.pdf The origins of Iron Working in India: New evidence from the Central Ganga plain and the Eastern Vindhyas by Rakesh Tewari (Director, U.P. State Archaeological Department)]</ref> Early iron objects found in India can be dated to [[1400 BC]] by employing the method of radio carbon dating. [[Spike]]s, [[knive]]s, [[dagger]]s, [[arrow]]-heads, [[bowl]]s, [[spoon]]s, [[saucepan]]s, [[axe]]s, [[chisel]]s, [[tong]]s, door fittings etc. ranging from [[600 BC]] to [[200 BC]] have been discovered from several archaeological sites of India.<ref name=Ceccarelli>Marco Ceccarelli (2000). ''International Symposium on History of Machines and Mechanisms: Proceedings HMM Symposium''. Springer. ISBN 0792363728. pp 218</ref> Some scholars believe that by the early [[13th century BC]], iron smelting was practiced on a bigger scale in India, suggesting that the date the technology's inception may be placed earlier.<ref name=Tewari/> In [[Southern India]] (present day [[Mysore]]) iron appeared as early as [[11th century BC|11th]] to [[12th century BC|12th centuries BC]]; these developments were too early for any significant close contact with the northwest of the country.<ref name=UCP>I. M. Drakonoff (1991). ''Early Antiquity''. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226144658. pp 372</ref> |
* '''[[Iron]]''': Iron was invented in the [[Vedic period]] of India, around the same time as, but independently of, [[Anatolia]] and the [[Caucasus]]. Archaeological sites in India, such as [[Malhar]], Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila and Lahuradewa in present day [[Uttar Pradesh]] show iron implements in the period between [[1800 BC]] - [[1200 BC]].<ref name=Tewari>[http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/tewari/tewari.pdf The origins of Iron Working in India: New evidence from the Central Ganga plain and the Eastern Vindhyas by Rakesh Tewari (Director, U.P. State Archaeological Department)]</ref> Early iron objects found in India can be dated to [[1400 BC]] by employing the method of radio carbon dating. [[Spike]]s, [[knive]]s, [[dagger]]s, [[arrow]]-heads, [[bowl]]s, [[spoon]]s, [[saucepan]]s, [[axe]]s, [[chisel]]s, [[tong]]s, door fittings etc. ranging from [[600 BC]] to [[200 BC]] have been discovered from several archaeological sites of India.<ref name=Ceccarelli>Marco Ceccarelli (2000). ''International Symposium on History of Machines and Mechanisms: Proceedings HMM Symposium''. Springer. ISBN 0792363728. pp 218</ref> Some scholars believe that by the early [[13th century BC]], iron smelting was practiced on a bigger scale in India, suggesting that the date the technology's inception may be placed earlier.<ref name=Tewari/> In [[Southern India]] (present day [[Mysore]]) iron appeared as early as [[11th century BC|11th]] to [[12th century BC|12th centuries BC]]; these developments were too early for any significant close contact with the northwest of the country.<ref name=UCP>I. M. Drakonoff (1991). ''Early Antiquity''. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226144658. pp 372</ref> |
||
* '''[[Iron pillar]]''': The first iron pillar was the [[Iron pillar of Delhi]], erected at the times of [[Chandragupta II]] Vikramaditya (375–413).<ref>Balasubramaniam, R., 2002</ref> |
|||
==J== |
==J== |
||
Line 179: | Line 185: | ||
==W== |
==W== |
||
* '''[[Wootz steel]]''': Wootz originated in India before the beginning of the common era.<ref>Srinivasan & Ranganathan</ref> Wootz steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe, China, the Arab world, and became particularly famous in the [[Middle East]], where it became known as [[Damascus steel]]. Archaeological evidence suggests that this manufacturing process was already in existence in South India well before the Christian era.<ref>Srinivasan 1994</ref><ref>Srinivasan & Griffiths</ref> |
* '''[[Wootz steel]]''': Wootz originated in India before the beginning of the common era.<ref name=Ranganathan>Srinivasan & Ranganathan</ref> Wootz steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe, China, the Arab world, and became particularly famous in the [[Middle East]], where it became known as [[Damascus steel]]. Archaeological evidence suggests that this manufacturing process was already in existence in South India well before the Christian era.<ref name=Srinivasan>Srinivasan 1994</ref><ref name=Griffiths>Srinivasan & Griffiths</ref> |
||
==Z== |
==Z== |
||
Line 248: | Line 254: | ||
* Emerson, D.T. (1998).''[http://www.tuc.nrao.edu/~demerson/bose/bose.html The Work of Jagdish Chandra Bose: 100 years of mm-wave research]''.National Radio Astronomy Observatory. |
* Emerson, D.T. (1998).''[http://www.tuc.nrao.edu/~demerson/bose/bose.html The Work of Jagdish Chandra Bose: 100 years of mm-wave research]''.National Radio Astronomy Observatory. |
||
* Bag, A. K. (2005), "Fathullah Shirazi: Cannon, Multi-barrel Gun and Yarghu", ''Indian Journal of History of Science'' '''40''' (3): 431-6 |
* Bag, A. K. (2005), "Fathullah Shirazi: Cannon, Multi-barrel Gun and Yarghu", ''Indian Journal of History of Science'' '''40''' (3): 431-6 |
||
* Balasubramaniam, R. (2002), ''Delhi Iron Pillar: New Insights''. Delhi: Aryan Books International and Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Hardbound, ISBN-81-7305-223-9 |
|||
==External links== |
==External links== |
Revision as of 20:03, 12 August 2008
![]() | This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Jute_plant.gif/200px-Jute_plant.gif)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Sanchi2.jpg/200px-Sanchi2.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Hindu-arabic1.jpg/200px-Hindu-arabic1.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Gujarat_Gulfs.jpg/200px-Gujarat_Gulfs.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Prayer_flag_above_Tanze_Gompa.jpg/200px-Prayer_flag_above_Tanze_Gompa.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Pashmina09.jpg/200px-Pashmina09.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/ChandBaori.jpg/200px-ChandBaori.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Radha-Krishna_chess.jpg/200px-Radha-Krishna_chess.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Darya-e_Noor_Diamond_of_Iran.png/200px-Darya-e_Noor_Diamond_of_Iran.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/WorldShips1460.jpg/200px-WorldShips1460.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/2064_aryabhata-crp.jpg/200px-2064_aryabhata-crp.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ca/PCMahalanobis.png/200px-PCMahalanobis.png)
Indian civilization begins at Mehrgarh (7000–3300 BCE), where mud bricks were used to construct graineries, and where activities of farming, metal working, flint knapping, tanning, bead production, and dentistry, were carried out.[1][2] The Indus Valley civilization (3000–1500 BCE) yields evidence of hydrography, metrology and sewage collection and disposal being known to its inhabitants.[3][4][5]
Significant inventions were made in India by scholars like Aryabhatta, Brahmagupta, Bhaskara II.[6] These inventions ranged from innovations in fields of scientific inquiry, for example, the decimal number system,[6] zero,[7] linguistics,[8] negative numbers,[9], and plastic surgery,[10] to a number of innovations made for leisure and material life, examples being chess,[11] and the earliest use of diamond as gemstone.[12]
The advent of Islam in India led to diffusion, innovation and new inventions being made in India.[13] The British Raj, too, facilitated a number of Indian scholars to enter prestigious foreign institutions in its ultimate aim of producing worthy civil and administrative service candidates.[14]
0–9
- 0: The concept of zero as a number, and not merely a symbol for separation is attributed to India.[7] In India, practical calculations were carried out using zero, which was treated like any other number by the 9th century CE, even in case of division.[7][15]
A
- Autocannon and multi-barrel gun: Fathullah Shirazi (c. 1582), a Persian-Indian polymath and mechanical engineer who worked for Akbar in the Mughal Empire, invented the autocannon, the earliest multi-shot gun.[16] Shirazi's rapid-firing gun had multiple gun barrels that fired hand cannons loaded with gunpowder.[16]
B
- Binary numbers: The modern system of binary numerals appears in the works of German polymath Gottfried Leibnitz during the 17th century. However, the first description of binary numbers is found in the works of the Indian mathematician, Pingala.[17]
- Binomial coefficients: The Indian mathematician Pingala, by 300 BCE, had also managed to work with Binomial coefficients.[18][19]
- Bose–Einstein statistics, Bose–Einstein condensate, and Boson: Discovered by the Bengali physicist Satyendra Nath Bose in the 1920s.
- Brahmagupta–Fibonacci identity, Brahmagupta's formula, Brahmagupta matrix, and Brahmagupta theorem: Discovered by the Indian mathematician, Brahmagupta, in the 7th century.
C
- Carding, devices for: Historian of science Joseph Needham ascribes the invention of bow-instruments used in textile technology to India.[20] The earliest evidence for using bow-instruments for carding comes from India (2nd century CE).[20] These carding devices, called kaman and dhunaki would loosen the texture of the fiber by the means of a vibrating string.[20]
- Cashmere wool, use of: The fiber is also known as pashm or pashmina for its use in the handmade shawls of Kashmir, India.[21] The woolen shawls made from wool in Kashmir region of India find written mention between 3rd century BC and the 11th century AD.[22] However, the founder of the cashmere wool industry is traditionally held to be the 15th century ruler of Kashmir, Zayn-ul-Abidin, who employed weavers from Central Asia.[22]
- Chariot: A commonly held view is that the Ratha, the first chariots, originated with the Indo-Iranians around 2000 BC, prior to the Indo-Aryan migration to India. However, Professor B. B. Lal has shown with convincing specimen the existence and use of spoked-wheel chariots in the Indus Valley Civilization.[23] The Bhirrana excavations in 2005-2006[24] and Bhagwan Singh[25] had made a similar assertions and Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao had presented evidence of chariots in bronze models from Diamabad during the Late Harappan period.
- Chess: The game of Chess has been attributed to the Indians both by the Persians and by the Arabs.[11] The words for chess in Old Persian and Arabic are chatrang and shatranj respectively — terms derived from chaturanga (6th century) in Sanskrit,[26] which literally means an army of four divisions.[27] Chess spread throughout the world and many variants of the game soon began taking shape.[28] This game was introduced to the Near East from India and became a part of the princely or courtly education of Persian nobility.[27] Buddhist pilgrims, Silk Road traders and others carried it to the Far East where it was transformed and assimilated into a game often played on the intersection of the lines of the board rather than within the squares.[28] Chaturanga reached Europe through Persia, the Byzantine empire and the expanding Arabian empire.[29] Muslims carried chess to North Africa, Sicily, and Spain by the 10th century.[28]
- Coherer, iron and mercury: In 1899, the Bengali physicist Jagdish Chandra Bose announced the development of an "iron-mercury-iron coherer with telephone detector" in a paper presented at the Royal Society, London.[30] He also later received U.S. patent 755,840, "Detector for electrical disturbances" (1904), for a specific electromagnetic receiver.
- Corrosion-resistant iron: The first corrosion-resistant iron was used to erect the Iron pillar od Delhi, which has withstood corrosion for over 1,600 years.[31]
- Cotton, cultivation of: Cotton was cultivated by the inhabitants of the Indus Valley Civilization by the 5th millennium BCE - 4th millennium BCE.[32] The Indus cotton industry was well developed and some methods used in cotton spinning and fabrication continued to be practiced till the modern Industrialization of India.[33] Well before the Common Era, the use of cotton textiles had spread from India to the Mediterranean and beyond.[34]
- Cotton Gin: The Ajanta caves of India yield evidence of a single roller cotton gin in use by the 5th century CE.[35] This cotton gin was used in India until innovations were made, in form foot powered gins.[35] The cotton gin was invented in India as a mechanical device known as charkhi, more technically the "wooden-worm-worked roller".[20] This mechanical device was, in some parts of india, driven by water power.[20]
- Crescograph: The crescograph, a device for measuring growth in plants, was invented in the early 20th century by the Bengali scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose.[36][37]
- Crucible steel: The first crucible steel was the wootz steel that originated in India before the beginning of the common era.[38] Archaeological evidence suggests that this manufacturing process was already in existence in South India well before the Christian era.[39][40]
D
- Decimal Number System: The modern number system originated in India.[6] Other cultures discovered a few features of this number system but the system, in its entirely, was compiled in India, where it attained coherence and completion.[6] By the 9th century CE, this complete number system had existed in India but several of its ideas were transmitted to to China and the Islamic world well before that time.[15]
- Dentistry, dental drill, and dental surgery: The Indus Valley Civilization has yielded evidence of dentistry being practiced as far back as 7000 BCE.[2] This earliest form of dentistry involved curing tooth related disorders with bow drills operated, perhaps, by skilled bead craftsmen.[41] The reconstruction of this ancient form of dentistry showed that the methods used were reliable and effective.[42]
- Diamond (gemstone): Early diamonds used as gemstones originated in India.[12] Golconda served as an important center for diamonds in central India.[12] Diamonds then were exported to other parts of the world, including Europe.[12] Early references to diamonds in India come from Sanskrit texts.[43] The Arthashastra of Kautilya mentions diamond trade in India.[44] India remained the only major source of diamonds in the world until the discovery of diamonds in Brazil.[44] Buddhist works dating from the 4th century BC as a well-known and precious stone but don't mention the details of diamond cutting.[45] Another Indian description written at the beginning of the 3rd century describes strength, regularity, brilliance, ability to scratch metals, and good refractive properties as the desirable qualities of a diamond.[45] A Chinese work from the 3rd century BC mentions: "Foreigners wear it [diamond] in the belief that it can ward off evil influences".[45] The Chinese, who did not find diamonds in their country, initially did not use diamond as a jewel but used as a "jade cutting knife".[45]
- Diophantine equations: The Śulba Sūtras (literally, "Aphorisms of the Chords" in Vedic Sanskrit) (c. 700-400 BCE) list rules for the construction of sacrificial fire altars.[46] Certain Diophantine equations, particularly the case of finding the generation of Pythagorean triples, so one square integer equals the of the other two, are also found.[47]
- Dock (maritime): The world's first dock at Lothal (2400 BCE) was located away from the main current to avoid deposition of silt.[3] Modern oceanographers have observed that the Harappans must have possessed great knowledge relating to tides in order to build such a dock on the ever-shifting course of the Sabarmati, as well as exemplary hydrography and maritime engineering.[3] This was the earliest known dock found in the world, equipped to berth and service ships.[3] It is speculated that Lothal engineers studied tidal movements, and their effects on brick-built structures, since the walls are of kiln-burnt bricks.[48] This knowledge also enabled them to select Lothal's location in the first place, as the Gulf of Khambhat has the highest tidal amplitude and ships can be sluiced through flow tides in the river estuary.[48] The engineers built a trapezoidal structure, with north-south arms of average 21.8 metres (71.5 ft), and east-west arms of 37 metres (121 ft).[48]
F
- Fibonacci numbers: In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers are a sequence of numbers named after Leonardo of Pisa, known as Fibonacci.[49] Fibonacci's 1202 book Liber Abaci introduced the sequence to Western European mathematics, although the sequence had been previously described in Indian mathematics.[49] The so-called Fibonacci numbers were also known to the Indian mathematician Pingala by 300 BCE.[19]
- Formal language, computational linguistics, and formal grammar: The 4th-century BC Indian scholar Pāṇini is regarded as the forerunner to these modern linguistic fields.[50]
H
- Hindu-Arabic numeral system: The Hindu-Arabic numeral system originated in India.[51] Graham Flegg (2002) dates the history of the Hindu-Arabic system to the Indus valley civilization.[51] The inscriptions on the edicts of Ashoka (1st millennium BCE) display this number system being used by the Imperial Mauryas.[51] This system was later transmitted to Europe by the Arabs.[51]
I
- Indigo dye: Indigo, a blue pigment and a dye, was used in India, which was also the earliest major center for its production and processing.[52] The Indigofera tinctoria variety of Indigo was domesticated in India.[52] Indigo, used as a dye, made its way to the Greeks and the Romans via various trade routes, and was valued as a luxury product.[52]
- Informatics: The Indian linguist Pāṇini is regarded as the founding father of informatics.[53]
- Inoculation and Variolation: The earliest record of inoculation and variolation for smallpox is found in 8th century India, when Madhav wrote the Nidāna, a 79-chapter book which lists diseases along with their causes, symptoms, and complications.[54] He included a special chapter on smallpox (masūrikā) and described the method of inoculation to protect against smallpox.[54]
- Iron: Iron was invented in the Vedic period of India, around the same time as, but independently of, Anatolia and the Caucasus. Archaeological sites in India, such as Malhar, Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila and Lahuradewa in present day Uttar Pradesh show iron implements in the period between 1800 BC - 1200 BC.[55] Early iron objects found in India can be dated to 1400 BC by employing the method of radio carbon dating. Spikes, knives, daggers, arrow-heads, bowls, spoons, saucepans, axes, chisels, tongs, door fittings etc. ranging from 600 BC to 200 BC have been discovered from several archaeological sites of India.[56] Some scholars believe that by the early 13th century BC, iron smelting was practiced on a bigger scale in India, suggesting that the date the technology's inception may be placed earlier.[55] In Southern India (present day Mysore) iron appeared as early as 11th to 12th centuries BC; these developments were too early for any significant close contact with the northwest of the country.[57]
- Iron pillar: The first iron pillar was the Iron pillar of Delhi, erected at the times of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375–413).[58]
J
- Jute, cultivation of: Jute has been cultivated in India since ancient times.[59] Raw jute was exported to the western world, where it was used to make ropes and cordage.[59] The Indian jute industry, in turn, was modernized during the British Raj in India.[59] The modern day area of Bengal-Bangladesh region was the major center for Jute cultivation, and remained so before the modernization of India's jute industry in 1855, when Kolkata became a center for jute processing in India.[59]
L
- Large numbers: The religious texts of the Vedic Period provide evidence for the use of large numbers.[60] By the time of the last Veda, the Yajurvedasaṃhitā (1200-900 BCE), numbers as high as were being included in the texts.[60] For example, the mantra (sacrificial formula) at the end of the annahoma ("food-oblation rite") performed during the aśvamedha ("horse sacrifice"), and uttered just before-, during-, and just after sunrise, invokes powers of ten from a hundred to a trillion.[60]
- Large scale sewage collection and disposal: Large scale sanitary sewer systems were in place in the Indus Valley by 2700 BCE.[61] The drains were 7-10 feet wide and 2 feet (0.61 m) below ground level.[61] The sewage was then led into cesspools, built at the intersection of two drains, which had stairs leading to them for periodic cleaning.[61] Plumbing using earthenware plumbing pipes with broad flanges for easy joining with asphalt to stop leaks was in place by 2700 BCE.[61]
- Linguistics, earliest practice of: The study of linguistics in India dates back at least two and one-half millennia.[8] During the 5th century BCE, the Indian scholar Pāṇini had made several discoveries in the fields of phonetics, phonology, and morphology.[8]
- Ludo: Pachisi originated in India by the 6th century.[62] The earliest evidence of this game in India is the depiction of boards on the caves of Ajanta.[62] This game was played by the Mughal emperors of India; a notable example being that of Akbar Khan, who played living Pachisi using girls from his harem.[62] A variant of this game, called Ludo, made its way to England during the British Raj.[62]
M
- Mahalanobis distance: Introduced in 1936 by the Indian statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (June 29, 1893–June 28, 1972), this distance measure, based upon the correlation between variables, is used to identify and analyze differing pattern with respect to one base.[63]
- Metrology, contributions to: The inhabitants of the Indus valley developed a sophisticated system of standardization, using weights and measures, evident by the excavations made at the Indus valley sites.[4] This technical standardization enabled gauging devices to be effectively used in angular measurement and measurement for construction.[4] Calibration was also found in measuring devices alongwith multiple subdivisions in case of some devices.[4]
- Metal-cylinder rocket artillery: In Encyclopedia Britannica (2008), Stephen Oliver Fought & John F. Guilmartin, Jr. describe the gunpowder technology in 18th century India: "Hyder Ali, prince of Mysore, developed war rockets with an important change: the use of metal cylinders to contain the combustion powder. Although the hammered soft iron he used was crude, the bursting strength of the container of black powder was much higher than the earlier paper construction. Thus a greater internal pressure was possible, with a resultant greater thrust of the propulsive jet. The rocket body was lashed with leather thongs to a long bamboo stick. Range was perhaps up to three-quarters of a mile (more than a kilometre). Although individually these rockets were not accurate, dispersion error became less important when large numbers were fired rapidly in mass attacks. They were particularly effective against cavalry and were hurled into the air, after lighting, or skimmed along the hard dry ground. Hyder Ali's son, Tippu Sultan, continued to develop and expand the use of rocket weapons, reportedly increasing the number of rocket troops from 1,200 to a corps of 5,000. In battles at Seringapatam in 1792 and 1799 these rockets were used with considerable effect against the British."[64]
N
- Negative numbers: The use of negative numbers was known in early India, and their role in situations like mathematical problems of debt was understood.[9] Consistent and correct rules for working with these numbers were formulated.[15] The diffusion of this concept led the Arab intermediaries to pass it on to Europe.[9]
P
- Pagoda, origin of: The origin of the pagoda can be traced to the Indian stupa (3rd century BCE).[65] The Buddhist pagoda, a dome shaped monument, was used in India as a commemorative monument associated with storing sacred relics.[65] The stupa architecture was adopted in Southeast and East Asia, where it became prominent as a Buddhist monument used for enshrining sacred relics.[65] Upon its discovery, this architectural became known as pagoda to the people from the western world.[65]
- Panini-Backus Form: Pāṇini's grammar rules have have significant similarities to the Backus–Naur Form or BNF grammars used to describe modern programming languages, hence the notation is sometimes referred to as the Panini–Backus Form.[66][67]
- Pascal triangle: The so-called Pascal triangle was solved by the Indian mathematician Pingala by 300 BCE.[18][19]
- Pell's equation : Indian scholar Brahmagupta (598–668) was able to find (integral) solutions of Pell's equation,
- where is a nonsquare integer. [68]
- Perpetual motion machine, concept of: The earliest conceptual design of a perpetual motion machine dates back to 1150, by an Indian mathematician-astronomer, Bhaskara II. He described a wheel that he claimed would run forever.[69][70]
- Plastic surgery: Plastic surgery was being carried out in india by 2000 BCE.[71] The system of punishment by deforming a miscreant's body may have led to an increase in demand for this practice.[71] During the Imperial Guptas, the Indian court physician Sushruta was performing plastic surgery operations.[10]
- Plough, animal-drawn: The earliest archeological evidence of an animal-drawn plough dates back to 2500 BC in the Indus Valley Civilization.[72]
- Prayer Flags, origin of: The Indian Buddhist Sutras, written on cloth in India, were transmitted to other regions of the world.[73] These sutras, written on banners, were the origin of prayer flags.[73] Legend ascribes the origin of the prayer flag to the Shakyamuni Buddha, whose prayers were written on battle flags used by the devas against their adversaries, the asuras.[74] The legend may have given the Indian bhikku a reason for carrying the 'heavenly' banner as a way of signyfying his commitment to ahimsa.[75] This knowledge was carried into Tibet by 800 CE, and the actual flags were introduced no later than 1040 CE, where they were further modified.[75] The Indian monk Atisha (980-1054 CE) introduced the Indian practice of printing on cloth prayer flags to Tibet.[74]
- Prefabricated home and movable structure: The first prefabricated homes and movable structures were invented in 16th century Mughal India by Akbar the Great. These structures were reported by Arif Qandahari in 1579.[76]
- Private bathroom and Toilet: By 2800 BCE, private bathrooms, located on the ground floor, were found in nearly all the houses of the Indus Valley Civilization.[61] The pottery pipes in walls allowed drainage of water and there was, in some case, provision of a crib for sitting.[61] The Indus Valley Civilization had some of the most advanced private lavatories in the world.[61] "Western-style" toilets were made from bricks using toilet seats made of wood on top.[61] The waste was then transmitted to drainage systems.[61]
- Pythagorean theorem, statement of: Baudhayana (c. 8th century BCE) composed the Baudhayana Sulba Sutra, the best-known Sulba Sutra, which contains examples of simple Pythagorean triples, such as: , , , , and [77] as well as a statement of the Pythagorean theorem for the sides of a square: "The rope which is stretched across the diagonal of a square produces an area double the size of the original square."[77] It also contains the general statement of the Pythagorean theorem (for the sides of a rectangle): "The rope stretched along the length of the diagonal of a rectangle makes an area which the vertical and horizontal sides make together."[77]
R
- Radio, contributions to: In 1894, the Bengali physicist, Jagdish Chandra Bose, demonstrated publicly the use of radio waves in Calcutta, but he was not interested in patenting his work.[78] He also ignited gunpowder and rang a bell at a distance using electromagnetic waves, showing independently that communication signals can be sent without using wires. In 1896, the Daily Chronicle of England reported on his UHF experiments: "The inventor (J.C. Bose) has transmitted signals to a distance of nearly a mile and herein lies the first and obvious and exceedingly valuable application of this new theoretical marvel." The 1895 public demonstration by Bose in Calcutta was before Marconi's wireless signalling experiment on Salisbury Plain in England in May 1897.[79][80]
- Raman effect: The Encyclopedia Britannica (2008) reports: "change in the wavelength of light that occurs when a light beam is deflected by molecules. The phenomenon is named for Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, who discovered it in 1928. When a beam of light traverses a dust-free, transparent sample of a chemical compound, a small fraction of the light emerges in directions other than that of the incident (incoming) beam. Most of this scattered light is of unchanged wavelength. A small part, however, has wavelengths different from that of the incident light; its presence is a result of the Raman effect."[81]
- Ramanujan theta function, Ramanujan summation, Ramanujan graph, and Ramanujan's sum, discovered by the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan in the early 20th century.
- Reservoirs: Sophisticated irrigation and storage systems were developed by the Indus Valley Civilization, including the artificial reservoirs at Girnar in 3000 BCE and an early canal irrigation system from circa 2600 BCE.[82] Irrigation was developed in the Indus Valley Civilization around 4500 BCE.[5] The size and prosperity of the Indus civilization grew as a result of this innovation, which eventually lead to more planned settlements which further made use of drainage and sewers.[5]
S
- Saha ionization equation: The Saha equation, derived by the Indian scientist Meghnad Saha (October 6, 1893 – February 16, 1956) in 1920, conceptualizes ionizations in context of stellar atmospheres.[83]
- Seamless celestial globe: Considered one of the most remarkable feats in metallurgy, it was invented in Kashmir by Ali Kashmiri ibn Luqman in 998 AH (1589-90 CE), and twenty other such globes were later produced in Lahore and Kashmir during the Mughal Empire.[84] Before they were rediscovered in the 1980s, it was believed by modern metallurgists to be technically impossible to produce metal globes without any seams, even with modern technology.[84] These Mughal metallurgists pioneered the method of lost-wax casting in order to produce these globes.[84]
- Series (mathematics): One of the main achievements of Indian mathematics was the development of the series expansions for trigonometric functions (sine, cosine, and arc tangent) by mathematicians of the Kerala School in the fifteenth century CE.[85] Their work, completed two centuries before the invention of calculus in Europe, provided what is now considered the first example of a power series (apart from geometric series).[85]
- Snakes and ladders: Snakes and ladders originated in India as a game based on morality.[86] This game made its way to England, and was eventually introduced in the United States of America by game-pioneer Milton Bradley in 1943.[86]
- Spinning wheel: The origins of the spinning wheel are unclear but the device was probably invented in India.[87][88] The device certainly reached Europe from India by the 14 century CE, and is still popular today.[89]
- Stepwell: Rock-cut step wells in India date from 200-400 CE.[90] Subsequently, the wells at Dhank (550-625 CE) and construction of stepped ponds at Bhinmal (850-950 CE) takes place.[90] The city of Mohenjo-daro has wells which may be the predecessors of the step well; as many as 700 wells, constructed by 3rd millennium BCE, have been discovered in just one section of the city, leading scholars to believe that 'cylindrical brick lined wells' were invented by the people of the Indus Valley Civilization.[91]
- Sugar: John F. Robyt (1998) locates the two most probable origins of sugarcane cultivation as the South Pacific or North East India, as early as 10,000 BC and 6,000 BC respectively.[92] Further archaeological evidence associates sugar with the Indus valley.[92] Crystallized sugar was discovered by the time of the Imperial Guptas[93], and the earliest reference of candied sugar come from India.[94] The process was soon transmitted to China with traveling Buddhist monks.[94] Chinese documents confirm at least two missions to India, initiated in 647 CE, for obtaining technology for sugar-refining.[95] Each mission returned with results on refining sugar.[95]
T
- Trigonometric functions: The trigonometric functions of sine and versine, from which it was trivial to derive the cosine, were discovered by the Indian mathematician, Aryabhata, in the late 5th century.[96][97]
W
- Wootz steel: Wootz originated in India before the beginning of the common era.[38] Wootz steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe, China, the Arab world, and became particularly famous in the Middle East, where it became known as Damascus steel. Archaeological evidence suggests that this manufacturing process was already in existence in South India well before the Christian era.[39][40]
Z
- Zinc, earliest use of: Zinc mines of Zawar, near Udaipur, Rajasthan, were active during 1300–1000 BC.[98] There are references of medicinal uses of zinc in the Charaka Samhita (300 BC).[98] The Rasaratna Samuccaya (800 AD) explains the existence of two types of ores for zinc metal, one of which is ideal for metal extraction while the other is used for medicinal purpose.[98]
See also
Notes
- ^ Possehl, Gregory L. (1996)
- ^ a b Coppa, A. et al.
- ^ a b c d Rao, pages 27–28
- ^ a b c d Baber, page 23
- ^ a b c Rodda & Ubertini, page 279
- ^ a b c d Ifrah, page 346
- ^ a b c Bourbaki, page 46
- ^ a b c Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Linguistics.
- ^ a b c Bourbaki, page 49
- ^ a b Wolpert, page 193.
- ^ a b Wilkinson, Charles K (May 1943)
- ^ a b c d Wenk, pages 535-539
- ^ Siddiqui (1986)
- ^ Raja (2006)
- ^ a b c Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (2007). algebra
- ^ a b Bag (2005)
- ^ Sanchez & Canton, page 37
- ^ a b Singh. pages 623-624
- ^ a b c Fowler, page 11
- ^ a b c d e Baber, page 57
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). cashmere.
- ^ a b Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). kashmir shawl.
- ^ B. B. Lal (2002), The Sarasvati Flows, pp. 74-75, Figs 3.28 to 331
- ^ L. S. Rao, Harappan Spoked Wheels Rattled Down the Streets of Bhirrana, Dist. Fatehabad, Haryana
- ^ Harappan Civilization and the Vedic Literature, in Hindi, 1987
- ^ Hooper & Whyld, page 74
- ^ a b Meri, page 148
- ^ a b c Encyclopedia Britannica (2002). Chess: Ancient precursors and related games.
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2007). Chess: Introduction to Europe.
- ^ Bondyopadhyay (1988)
- ^ R. Balasubramaniam (2000), On the Corrosion Resistance of the Delhi Iron Pillar, Corrosion Science 42: 2103-29
- ^ Stein, page 47
- ^ Wisseman & Williams, page 127
- ^ The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. cotton.
- ^ a b Baber, page 56
- ^ "Jagadis Bose Research on Measurement of Plant Growth". Retrieved 2008-08-05.
- ^ Geddes, pages 173-176
- ^ a b Srinivasan & Ranganathan
- ^ a b Srinivasan 1994
- ^ a b Srinivasan & Griffiths
- ^ BBC (2006). Stone age man used dentist drill.
- ^ MSNBC (2008). Dig uncovers ancient roots of dentistry.
- ^ MSN Encarta (2007). Diamond.
- ^ a b Lee, page 685
- ^ a b c d Dickinson, pages 1-3
- ^ Staal, 1999
- ^ Cooke, page 198
- ^ a b c Rao, pages 28–29
- ^ a b Singh, P. (1985)
- ^ O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "List of Indian inventions and discoveries", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews
- ^ a b c d Flegg, pages 67-70.
- ^ a b c Kriger & Connah, page 120
- ^ Prof. Gerard Huet, Contemporary Relevance of Panini, INRIA, France.
- ^ a b Hopkins, page 140
- ^ a b The origins of Iron Working in India: New evidence from the Central Ganga plain and the Eastern Vindhyas by Rakesh Tewari (Director, U.P. State Archaeological Department)
- ^ Marco Ceccarelli (2000). International Symposium on History of Machines and Mechanisms: Proceedings HMM Symposium. Springer. ISBN 0792363728. pp 218
- ^ I. M. Drakonoff (1991). Early Antiquity. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226144658. pp 372
- ^ Balasubramaniam, R., 2002
- ^ a b c d Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). jute.
- ^ a b c Hayashi, page 360-361
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Teresi, pages 351-352
- ^ a b c d MSN Encarta (2008). Pachisi.
- ^ Taguchi & Jugulum, pages 6-7
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). rocket and missile.
- ^ a b c d Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Pagoda.
- '^ P. Z. Ingerman (1967), "Panini-Backus form suggested", Communications of the ACM 10 (3): 137
- ^ T. R. N. Rao, Panini-backus form of languages, 1998
- ^ Stillwell, pages 72-73
- ^ Lynn Townsend White, Jr..
- ^ Pacey, page 14
- ^ a b MSN Encarta (2008). Plastic Surgery.
- ^ Lal, R. (August 2001), "Thematic evolution of ISTRO: transition in scientific issues and research focus from 1955 to 2000", Soil and Tillage Research, 61 (1–2): 3-12 [3]
- ^ a b Barker, page 13
- ^ a b Beer, page 60
- ^ a b Wise, page 11-12
- ^ Irfan Habib (1992), "Akbar and Technology", Social Scientist 20 (9-10): 3-15 [3-4]
- ^ a b c Joseph, page 229
- ^ "Jagadish Chandra Bose". ieee-virtual-museum.org.
- ^ Emerson, D.T. (1998)
- ^ Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2008). Jagadish Chandra Bose. HTML.
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Raman effect
- ^ Rodda & Ubertini, page 161
- ^ Narlikar, page 188
- ^ a b c Savage-Smith, Emilie (1985), Islamicate Celestial Globes: Their history, Construction, and Use, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
- ^ a b Stillwell, page 173
- ^ a b Augustyn, pages 27-28
- ^ "spinning wheel" in Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (2007). 1994-2008 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
- ^ Encyclopeedia Britnnica (2008). spinning
- ^ MSN Encarta (2008). Spinning
- ^ a b Livingston & Beach, page xxiii
- ^ Livingstone & Beach, page 19
- ^ a b Robyt, pages 19-21
- ^ Adas, page 311
- ^ a b Kieschnick (2003)
- ^ a b Kieschnick, page 258
- ^ J. J. O'Connor and E.F. Robertson (1996), Trigonometric functions, MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
- ^ Template:Harvard reference Quote: "Geometry, and its branch trigonometry, was the mathematics Indian astronomers used most frequently. In fact, the Indian astronomers in the third or fourth century, using a pre-Ptolemaic Greek table of chords, produced tables of sines and versines, from which it was trivial to derive cosines. This new system of trigonometry, produced in India, was transmitted to the Arabs in the late eighth century and by them, in an expanded form, to the Latin West and the Byzantine East in the twelfth century."
- ^ a b c Craddock, page 13
References
History of South Asia |
---|
![]() |
- Possehl, Gregory L. (1996). Mehrgarh in Oxford Companion to Archaeology, edited by Brian Fagan. Oxford University Press.
- Stein, Burton (1998). A History of India. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0631205462.
- Adas, Michael (January 2001). Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History. Temple University Press. ISBN 1566398320.
- Wisseman, S. U. & Williams, W. S. (1994). Ancient Technologies and Archaeological Materials. Routledge. ISBN 288124632X.
- Rao, S. R. (1985). Lothal. Archaeological Survey of India.
- Baber, Zaheer (1996). The Science of Empire: Scientific Knowledge, Civilization, and Colonial Rule in India. State University of New York Press. ISBN 0791429199.
- Rodda & Ubertini (2004). The Basis of Civilization--water Science?. International Association of Hydrological Science. ISBN 1901502570.
- Joseph, G. G. (2000). The Crest of the Peacock: The Non-European Roots of Mathematics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691006598.
- Teresi, Dick; et al. (2002). Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science--from the Babylonians to the Maya. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-83718-8.
- Wilkinson, Charles K (May 1943). Chessmen and Chess. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin New Series 1 (9): 271–279. doi:10.2307/3257111.
- Pacey, Arnold (1991). Technology in World Civilization: A Thousand-year History. MIT Press. ISBN 0262660725.
- Hooper, David Vincent; Whyld, Kenneth (1992). The Oxford Companion to Chess. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198661649.
- Meri, Josef W. (2005). Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN ISBN 0415966906.
- Augustyn, Frederick J. (2004). Dictionary of toys and games in American popular culture. Haworth Press. ISBN 0789015048.
- Sanchez & Canton (2006). Microcontroller Programming: The Microchip PIC. CRC Press. ISBN 0849371899.
- Flegg, Graham (2002). Numbers: Their History and Meaning. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0486421651.
- Singh, P. (1985). The So-called Fibonacci numbers in ancient and medieval India. Historia Mathematica 12(3), 229–44.
- Srinivasan, S. & Ranganathan, S. Wootz Steel: An Advanced Material of the Ancient World. Bangalore: Indian Institute of Science.
- Srinivasan,S. Wootz crucible steel: a newly discovered production site in South India. Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 5 (1994), pp. 49-61.
- Srinivasan, S. and Griffiths, D. South Indian wootz: evidence for high-carbon steel from crucibles from a newly identified site and preliminary comparisons with related finds. Material Issues in Art and Archaeology-V, Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings Series Vol. 462.
- Craddock, P.T. et al. (1983). Zinc production in medieval India, World Archaeology, vol. 15, no. 2, Industrial Archaeology.
- Staal, Frits (1999). Greek and Vedic Geometry. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 27(1-2): 105-127.
- Cooke, Roger (2005). The History of Mathematics: A Brief Course. New York: Wiley-Interscience. ISBN 0471444596.
- Wise, Tad (2002). Blessings on the Wind: The Mystery & Meaning of Tibetan Prayer Flags. Chronicle Books. ISBN 0811834352.
- Hayashi, Takao (2005). Indian Mathematics in Flood, Gavin, The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 616 pages, pp. 360-375, 360-375, ISBN 9781405132510.
- Wolpert, Stanley (2005). India. University of California Press. ISBN 0520246969.
- Coppa, A. et al. 2006. Early Neolithic tradition of dentistry. Nature. Volume 440. 6 April, 2006.
- Narlikar, J. V. (2002). An Introduction to Cosmology. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521793769.
- Taguchi, Genichi & Jugulum, Rajesh (2002). The Mahalanobis-taguchi Strategy: A Pattern Technology System. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0471023337.
- Barker, Dian (2003). Tibetan Prayer Flags. Connections Book Publishing. ISBN 1859061060.
- Wenk, Hans-Rudolf; et al. (2003). Minerals: Their Constitution and Origin. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521529581.
- Lee, Sunggyu (2006). Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing. CRC Press. ISBN 0824755634.
- Siddiqui, Iqtidar Husain (Feb., 1986), Water Works and Irrigation System in India during Pre-Mughal Times, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 52–77.
- Dickinson, Joan Y. (2001). The Book of Diamonds. Dover Publications. ISBN 0486418162.
- Livingston, Morna & Beach, Milo (2002). Steps to Water: The Ancient Stepwells of India. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 1568983247.
- Kieschnick, John (2003). The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691096767.
- Robyt, John (January 1998). Essentials of Carbohydrate Chemistry. Springer. ISBN 0387949518.
- Kriger, Colleen E. & Connah, Graham (2006). Cloth in West African History. Rowman Altamira. ISBN 0759104220.
- Ifrah, Georges (2000). A Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to Computers. New York: Wiley. ISBN 0471393401.
- Beer, Robert (2004). Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs. Serindia Publications Inc. ISBN 1932476105
- Bourbaki, Nicolas (1998). Elements of the History of Mathematics. Berlin, Heidelberg, and New York: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3540647678.
- Stillwell, John (2004). Mathematics and its History (2 ed.). Berlin and New York: Springer. ISBN 0387953361.
- Fowler, David (1996). Binomial Coefficient Function. The American Mathematical Monthly 103(1): 1-17.
- Lynn Townsend White, Jr. (April 1960). "Tibet, India, and Malaya as Sources of Western Medieval Technology", The American Historical Review 65 (3), p. 522-526.
- Singh, A. N. (1936). On the Use of Series in Hindu Mathematics. Osiris 1: 606-628.
- Raja, Rajendran (2006), Scientists of Indian origin and their contributions in Encyclopedia of India (Vol 4.), edited by Stanley Wolpet. ISBN 0-684-31512-2.
- Geddes, Patrick (2000). The life and work of Sir Jagadis C. Bose. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 8120614577.
- Hopkins, Donald R. (2002). The Greatest Killer: Smallpox in history. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226351688.
- Bondyopadhyay, Probir K (1988). "Sir J. C. Bose's Diode Detector Received Marconi's First Transatlantic Wireless Signal Of December 1901 (The "Italian Navy Coherer" Scandal Revisited)". Proc. IEEE, Vol. 86, No. 1, January 1988.
- Emerson, D.T. (1998).The Work of Jagdish Chandra Bose: 100 years of mm-wave research.National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
- Bag, A. K. (2005), "Fathullah Shirazi: Cannon, Multi-barrel Gun and Yarghu", Indian Journal of History of Science 40 (3): 431-6
- Balasubramaniam, R. (2002), Delhi Iron Pillar: New Insights. Delhi: Aryan Books International and Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Hardbound, ISBN-81-7305-223-9