Assignment : Development of Science in Ancient , Medieval and Modern Periods

 

INTRODUCTION

     Science is also a developing one. In each and every day it become more and more modified. The evolution of science is like a boon to the world, as human beings come to know a lot about the world, they are living in including the activities they indulge into. Furthermore, the development of technology along with the advancement in Science helps to bring in a revolution in various fields such as medicine, agriculture, education, information and technology, and many more. where science means that the fundamentally is the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the natural and physical world through observations and experiments.

Development of science in ancient period

 

Mathematics

  The earliest traces of mathematical knowledge in the Indian subcontinent appear with indus valley civilization . They also tried to standardize measurement of length to a high degree of accuracy. Bricks manufactured in ancient Mohenjo-Daro often had dimensions that were integral multiples of this unit of length.Indian astronomer and mathematician Aryabhata (476–550), in his Aryabhatiya (499) introduced a number of  triganometric functions, triganometric tables, and techniques and algoritham of algebra.In 628AD, Brahmagupta suggested that  gravity,was a force of attraction. He also lucidly explained the use of  zero as both a placeholder and a  decimal digit , along with the  hindu Arabic numerals system now used universally throughout the world.  During the 14th–16th centuries, the  Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics made significant advances in astronomy and especially mathematics, including fields such as trigonometry and analysis.

Astronomy

  The first textual mention of astronomical concepts comes from the Vedas , religious literature of India. According to Sarma (2008) “ the  spheriacal self supporting earth, and the year of 360 days divided into 12 equal parts of 30 days each with a periodical intercalary month.". The first 12 chapters of the 'Siddhanta Shiromani' , written by  Bhaskara  in the 12th century, cover topics such as: mean longitudes of the planets; true longitudes of the planets; the three problems of diurnal rotation; syzygies; lunar eclipses; solar eclipses; latitudes of the planets; risings and settings; the moon's crescent; conjunctions of the planets with each other; conjunctions of the planets with the fixed stars; and the patas of the sun and moon. The 13 chapters of the second part cover the nature of the sphere, as well as significant astronomical and trigonometric calculations based on it.Nilakantha somayaji's astronomical treatise the Tantrasangraha similar in nature to the  Tychonic system proposed by  tycho brahe had been the most accurate astronomical model until the time of  Johannes Kepler in the 17th century.

Medicine  

 Ayurveda is a system of traditional medicine, and is now practiced as a form of alternative medicine  in other parts of the world. Its most famous text is the Susrutasamhita of Susruta  , which is notable for describing procedures on various HE forms of surgery, including  Rhinoplasty, the repair of torn ear lobes, perineal  lithotomy ,cataract surgery, and several other excisions and other surgical procedures.

Chemistry 

 One of the notable scientists of the ancient India was Kanad who is said to have devised the 'atomic theory' centuries before John Dalton was born. He speculated the existence of  a small indestructible particles, much like an atom. He also stated that particle  can have two states — absolute rest and a state of motion. He further held that atoms of same substance combined with each other in a specific and synchronized manner to produce dvyanuka(diatomic molecules) and tryanuka  (triatomic molecules).

Development of science in medieval  & modern period

 With the  scientific revolution,paradigms established in the time of classical antiquity were replaced with those of scientists like Nicolaus Copernicus ,Christiaan Huygens and Issac newton . During the 19th century, the practice of science became professionalized and institutionalized in ways that continued through the 20th century. As the role of scientific knowledge grew in society, it became incorporated with many aspects of the functioning of nation-states.

Physics

Nicolaus Copernicus  revived the helicentric  model of the solar system described by Aristarchus of samos. This was followed by the first known model of planetary motion given by Johannes kepler  in the early 17th century, which proposed that the planets follow  elliptical  orbits, with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse.  Gallileo  ("Father of Modern Physics") also made use of experiments to validate physical theories, a key element of the scientific method.Christiaan Huygens derived the centripetal and centrifugal forces and was the first to transfer mathematical inquiry to describe unobservable physical phenomena.  William Gilbert did some of the earliest experiments with electricity and magnetism, establishing that the Earth itself is magnetic.

In 1687,  Issac Newton published the  'Pricipia Mathematica', detailing two comprehensive and successful physical theories: Newton's law of motion , which led to classical mechanics; and Newton's law of universal gravitation , which describes the fundamental force of gravity.

The later  studies led to the unification of the two phenomena into a single theory of electomagnetism , by  James clerk maxwell  .

The beginning of the 20th century brought the start of a revolution in physics. The long-held theories of Newton were shown not to be correct in all circumstances. Beginning in 1900, Max Planks ,Albert Einstein ,Niels Bohr and others developed quantum theories to explain various anomalous experimental results, by introducing discrete energy levels. Not only did quantum mechanics show that the laws of motion did not hold on small scales, but the theory of general relativity , proposed by Einstein in 1915, showed that the fixed background of  spacetime, on which both Newtonian mechanics and special relativity depended, could not exist. In 1925,Werner Heisenberg and Ervin Schrondingerformulated quantum mechanics . In 1929 ,the formulation of the Bigbangtheory by  Georges Lemaitre 

In 1938 Otto Hahn  and  Fritz Strassman discoverd nuclear fission  with radiochemical methods. Further developments took place during World War II, which led to the practical application of radar and the development and use of the atomic bomb . Around this time, make a processes to separating U-235 and U-238 isotopes by Gaseous diffusion.The invention of the cyclontron by Ernest O.Lawrence.

Chemistry

Modern chemistry emerged from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries through the material practices and theories promoted by alchemy, medicine, manufacturing and mining. A decisive moment came when "chemistry" was distinguished from alchemy  by Robert Boyle in his work  The Sceptical chemist, in 1661; although the alchemical tradition continued for some time after his work. Other important steps included the gravimetric experimental practices of medical chemists like William Cullen,Joseph Black, Torbern Bergman and  Pierre Macquer and through the work of Antonie Lavoisier (father of modernchemistry) on oxygen  and the law of  conservation  of mass , which refuted phlogiston theory. The  atomic theory  provided by John Dalton in 1803. Dalton also formulated the law of mass relationships. In 1869,  Dmitri Mendeleevcomposed his  periodic table  of elements on the basis of Dalton's discoveries.The synthesis of urea  by Friedrich Wohler opened a new research field, organic chemistry , and by the end of the 19th century, scientists were able to synthesize hundreds of organic compounds. The later part of the 19th century saw the exploitation of the Earth's petrochemicals, after the exhaustion of the oil supply from  whaling .Linus pauling's book on 'The Nature of the Chemical Bond 'used the principles of quantum mechanics to deduce bond angles in ever-more complicated molecules.

Astronomy

Aristarchus of Samos published work  on how to determine the sizes and distances of the Sun and the Moon, and Eratosthenes  used this work to figure the size of the Earth.  Hipparchus  later discovered the  precession of the Earth.19th century resulted in the first observation of an asteroid in 1801, and the discovery of Neptune  in 1846.In 1925, Cecilia Payne - Gaposchkin determined that stars were composed mostly of hydrogen and helium.   George Gamow , Ralph Alphaer , and  Robert Herman had calculated that there should be evidence for a Big Bang in the background temperature of the universe.  Studies that helped determine the age of the universe.Supernova  SN1987A  was observed by astronomers on Earth both visually, and in a triumph for neutrino astronomy. 

Biology and medicine

William Harvey  published 'De Motu Cordis' in 1628, which revealed his conclusions based on his extensive studies of vertebrate circulatory systems..The  surgeon Joseph Lister , who in 1865 proved the principles of  antisepsis. biologist Louis Pasteur  , when in 1880 he produced a vaccine  against rabies. Pasteur invented the process of pasteurization , to help prevent the spread of disease through milk and other foods.

      Conclusion

Science is  always a developing branch . From the 16 th century through the 20 th century ,the history of science especialy of the physical and biological science was often presented as a progressive  accumulation, in  which true laws replaced by the false beliefs . From the ancient scientists doesn't know how to prove their own conclutions and thoeries. but the later develoment in science can prove the thoeries . where  science is growing up day by day like a seed to plant . 

Reference

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_science
• https://www.thebetterindia.com/63119/ancient-india-science-technology/