Indian scientists have played a stellar role in the
development of India. In the short span of its post-independence history India
has achieved several great scientific achievements. Indian scientists have
proved their mettle in the face of international sanctions and have made India
one of the scientific powerhouses of the world. Here is a brief profile of
famous Indian scientists.
Bhaskara(Bhaskaracharya) is the most celebrated
mathematician of ancient India.
Born in 1114 A.D. at Vijjadavida (Bijapur,
Karnataka), Baskara was the first to say that any number divided by zero is
infinity, and the sum of infinity and any number is also infinity. His most
famous work is Siddhanta Siromani, which is divided into four sections,
namely, Leelavati (a book on arithmetic), Bijaganita (algebra), Goladhayaya
(chapter on sphere -celestial globe), and Grahaganita (mathematics of the
planets).
Bhaskara, also known as the father of
differential calculus, formulated chakrawal, or the cyclic method, to resolve
algebraic equations. 600 years later, European mathematicians such as Lagrange,
Galois and Euler revived this method and called it ‘inverse cyclic’.
In the field of astronomy,
Bhaskara is well known for his concept of instantaneous motion (Tatkalikagati).
Bhāskara
II, also called Bhāskarācārya, or Bhaskara The Learned (born
1114, Biddur, India—died c.1185, probably
Ujjain), the leading mathematician of the 12th century, who wrote the
first work with full and systematic use of the decimal number system.
Bhāskara II was the lineal successor of the
noted Indian mathematician Brahmagupta (598–c. 665)
as head of an astronomical observatory at Ujjain, the leading mathematical centre
of ancient India.
In his mathematical works, particularly Līlāvatī (“The Beautiful”) and Bījagaṇita (“Seed Counting”), he not only used the
decimal system but also compiled problems from Brahmagupta and others. He
filled many of the gaps in Brahmagupta’s work, especially in obtaining a
general solution to the Pell equation(x2 = 1 + py2) and
in giving many particular solutions. Bhāskara II anticipated the modern
convention of signs (minus by minus makes plus, minus by plus makes minus) and
evidently was the first to gain some understanding of the meaning of division
by zero, for he specifically stated that the value of 3/0 is an
infinite quantity, though his understanding seems to have been limited, for he
also stated wrongly that a⁄0 × 0 = a. Bhāskara II used
letters to represent unknown quantities, much as in modern algebra, and solved
indeterminate equations of 1st and 2nd degrees. He reduced quadratic equations
to a single type and solved them and investigated regular polygons up to those
having 384 sides, thus obtaining a good approximate value of π = 3.141666.
In other of his works, notably Siddhāntaśiromaṇi (“Head Jewel of Accuracy”) and Karaṇakutūhala(“Calculation
of Astronomical Wonders”), he wrote on his astronomical observations of
planetary positions, conjunctions, eclipses, cosmography, geography, and
the mathematical techniques and astronomical equipment used in these studies.
Bhāskara II was also a noted astrologer, and tradition has it that he named his
first work, Līlāvatī, after his daughter in order to console
her. His astrological meddling coupled with an unfortunate twist of fate is
said to have deprived her of her only chance for marriage and happiness.
was an Indian mathematician who wrote the Aryabhatiya which
summarises Hindu mathematics up to that 6th Century.
Aryabhatta (Born
476 A.D, Died 550 A.D)
Influence of
Aryabhatta on science and mathematics
Aryabhatta is considered to be one of the mathematicians who
changed the course of mathematics and astronomy to a great extent. He is known
to have considerable influence on Arabic science world too, where he is
referred to as Arjehir. His notable contributions to the world of science and
mathematics includes the theory that the earth rotates on its axis,
explanations of the solar and lunar eclipses, solving of quadratic equations,
place value system with zero, and approximation of pie (π).
Aryabhatta worked out the value of pi.
He worked out the area of a triangle. His exact words were,
“ribhujasya phalashariram samadalakoti bhujardhasamvargah” which translates
“for a triangle, the result of a perpendicular with the half side is the area”.
He worked on the summation of series of squares and cubes
(square-root and cube-root).
He talks about the “rule of three” which is to find the
value of x when three numbers a, b and c is given.
Aryabhatta calculates the volume of a sphere.
Aryabhatta described the model of the solar system, where
the sun and moon are each carried by epicycles that in turn revolve around the
Earth. He also talks about the number of rotations of the earth, describes that
the earth rotating on its axis, the order of the planets in terms of distance
from earth.
Aryabhatta describes the solar and lunar eclipses
scientifically.
Aryabhatta describes that the moon and planets shine by
light reflected from the sun.
Aryabhatta calculated the sidereal rotation which is the
rotation of the earth with respect to the stars as 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.1
seconds.
He calculated the length of the sidereal year as 365 days, 6
hours, 12 minutes and 30 seconds. The actual value shows that his calculations
was an error of 3 minutes and 20 seconds over a year.
Indian scientists have played a stellar role in the
development of India. In the short span of its post-independence history India
has achieved several great scientific achievements. Indian scientists have
proved their mettle in the face of international sanctions and have made India
one of the scientific powerhouses of the world. Here is a brief profile of
famous Indian scientists.
Aryabhata II. (950 and 1100.)
Essentially
nothing is known of the life of Aryabhata II. Historians have argued about his
date and have come up with many different theories. In [1] Pingree gives the
date for his main publications as being between 950 and 1100. This is deduced
from the usual arguments such as which authors Aryabhata II refers to and which
refer to him. G R Kaye argued in 1910 that Aryabhata II lived before al-Biruni
but Datta [2] in 1926 showed that these dates were too early.
The
article argues for a date of about 950 for Aryabhata II's main work, the
Mahasiddhanta, but R Billiard has proposed a date for Aryabhata II in the
sixteenth century. Most modern historians, however, consider the most likely
dates for his main work as around 950 and we have given very approximate dates
for his birth and death based on this hypothesis. See [7] for a fairly recent
discussion of this topic.
The
most famous work by Aryabhata II is the Mahasiddhanta which consists of
eighteen chapters. The treatise is written in Sanskrit verse and the first
twelve chapters form a treatise on mathematical astronomy covering the usual
topics that Indian mathematicians worked on during this period. The topics
included in these twelve chapters are: the longitudes of the planets, eclipses
of the sun and moon, the projection of eclipses, the lunar crescent, the rising
and setting of the planets, conjunctions of the planets with each other and
with the stars.
The
remaining six chapters of the Mahasiddhanta form a separate part entitled On
the sphere. It discusses topics such as geometry, geography and algebra with
applications to the longitudes of the planets.
In
Mahasiddhanta Aryabhata II gives in about twenty verses detailed rules to solve
the indeterminate equation: by = ax + c. The rules apply in a number of
different cases such as when c is positive, when c is negative, when the number
of the quotients of the mutual divisions is even, when this number of quotients
is odd, etc. Details of Aryabhata II's method are given in [6].
Aryabhata
II also gave a method to calculate the cube root of a number, but his method
was not new, being based on that given many years earlier by Aryabhata I, see
for example [5].
Aryabhata
II constructed a sine table correct up to five decimal places when measured in
decimal parts of the radius, see [4]. Indian mathematicians were very
interested in giving accurate sine tables since they were used to calculate the
planetary positions as accurately as possible.
Article
by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
C.V. Raman
C.V. Raman is one of the most renowned scientists produced
by India. His full name was Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman. For his pioneering
work on scattering of light, C.V. Raman won the Nobel Prize for Physics in
1930.Read More
Homi Bhabha
Homi Bhabha, whose full name was Homi Jehnagir Bhabha, was a
famous Indian atomic scientist. In Independent India, Homi Jehnagir Bhabha,
with the support of Jawaharlal Nehru, laid the foundation of a scientific
establishment and was responsible for the creation of two premier institutions,
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
Jagdish Chandra Bose
Jagdish Chandra Bose was born on November 30, 1858 in
Mymensingh (now in Bangladesh). His father Bhagabanchandra Bose was a Deputy
Magistrate. Jagadish Chandra Bose had his early education in village school in
Bengal medium.
Meghnad Saha
Meghnad Saha was born on October 6, 1893 in Sheoratali, a
village in the District of Dacca, now in Bangladesh. He was the fifth child of
his parents, Sri Jagannath Saha and Smt. Bhubaneshwari Devi. His father was a
grocer in the village. Meghnad Saha had his early schooling in the primary
school of the village.
M. Visvesvaraya
Sir M. Visvesvaraya was born on September 15, 1860 in
Muddenahalli village in the Kolar district of the erstwhile princely state of
Mysore (present day Karnataka). His father Srinivasa Sastry was a Sanskrit
scholar and Ayurvedic practitioner. His mother Venkachamma was a religious
lady. He lost his father when he was only 15 years old.
Satyendra Nath Bose
Satyendra Nath Bose was an outstanding Indian physicist. He
is known for his work in Quantum Physics. He is famous for "Bose-Einstein
Theory" and a kind of particle in atom has been named after his name as
Boson.
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was one of the greatest
scientists of the 20th century. He did commendable work in astrophysics,
physics and applied mathematics. Chandrasekhar was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physics in 1983.
Vikram Sarabhai
Vikram Sarabhai was one of the greatest scientists of India.
He is considered as the Father of the Indian space program. Apart from being a
scientist, he was a rare combination of an innovator, industrialist and
visionary.
Anil Kakodkar
Dr Anil Kakodkar is a very distinguished nuclear scientist
of India. He is presently the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India
(AECI) as well as the Secretary to the Government of India, Department of
Atomic Energy.
APJ Abdul Kalam
Apart from being a notable scientist and engineer, Dr APJ
Abdul Kalam served as the 11th President of India from the period 2002 to 2007.
He is a man of vision, who is always full of ideas aimed at the development of
the country and is also often also referred to as the Missile Man of India.
Birbal Sahni
Birbal Sahni was a renowned paleobotanist of India, who
studied the fossils of the Indian subcontinent. Also a great geologist, Sahni
is credited for establishing the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany at
Lucknow in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Born on 14 November in the year 1891 at
Behra in the Saharanpur District of West Punjab, Birbal was the third son of
Ishwar Devi and Prof.
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan was a mathematician par excellence. He
is widely believed to be the greatest mathematician of the 20th Century.
Srinivasa Ramanujan made significant contribution to the analytical theory of
numbers and worked on elliptic functions, continued fractions, and infinite
series.
Dr. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar
Dr Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar was a distinguished Indian
scientist. He was born on 21 February 1894 at Shahpur, which is located in
Pakistan in present times. His father passed away sometime after the birth of
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar. As such, he spent his childhood days with his maternal
grandfather who was an engineer and it was here that he developed an interest
in science and engineering.
Har Gobind Khorana
Har Gobind Khorana is an American molecular biologist born
on 9 January 1922 to an Indian Punjabi couple. For his work on the
interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis, he
was awarded the Nobel Prize in the year 1968.
Raja Ramanna
Handpicked by the founder of India's nuclear program, Dr.
Homi Bhabha, Dr. Raja Ramanna was a celebrated physicist and nuclear scientist
that India had ever produced. A multifaceted personality, Dr. Raja Ramanna
played the roles of a technologist, nuclear physicist, administrator, leader,
musician, Sanskrit literature scholar, and philosophy researcher.
Ganapathi Thanikaimoni
Ganapathi Thanikaimoni, a successful botanist of his days,
is remembered till date for his widespread contribution in the field of
palynology. His researches and projects not only helped India to make its
presence felt on the world stage of botany, it also furthered public relations
between two countries.
Harish-Chandra
For those who quiver at the thought of calculations and
numerical deductions, unless when counting money, mathematics can be the
equivalent of hell on earth. And for such 'math atheists' a mathematician like
Harish Chandra can very well seem like a mirage. Harish Chandra is one amongst
those few people who often
G. N. Ramachandran
Gopalasamudram Narayana Iyer Ramachandran, popularly
referred to as G. N. Ramachandran surely must be included in the list of one of
the best scientists that 20th century India had produced. The best known work
of G. N. Ramachandran till date is the Ramachandran plot, which the scientist
had conceived along with Viswanathan Sasisekharan, to understand the structure
of peptides.
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis
Economic census, population census, agricultural surveys and
various other large scale and in depth samples and surveys that have been
admired the world over for their scope and accuracy owes its popularity and
worldwide acceptance to the grit, determination and genius of one man, Prasanta
Chandra Mahalanobis.
Kotcherlakota Rangadhama Rao
Kotcherlakota Rangadhama Rao was one of the greatest
physicists of 20th century India. His work in spectroscopy led to the
development of the Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance in Physics. Kotcherlakota
Rangadhama Rao is also known for his long association with the Andhra
University in which he served as professor of Physics and subsequently,
Salim Ali
Almost every one of us is interested in watching colorful
and distinct birds crossing us. But very few are passionate about studying them
in detail. One such man who took extreme interest and excitement in studying
birds closely and categorizing them was Dr. Salim Ali. One of the greatest
biologists of all times,
Yellapragada Subbarao
"You've probably never heard of Dr. Yellapragada Subba
Rao, yet because he lived you may be well and alive today; because he lived you
may live longer". A famous adage quoted by American author, Doron K.
Antrim, Yellapragada Subbarao was one of those rare people who made several
significant contributions,
Sam Pitroda
Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda is a famous Indian and a
renowned inventor, entrepreneur and policymaker who currently serves as an advisor
to the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Manmohan Singh. His work revolves around
Public Information Infrastructure & Innovations. He is respected for being
a technological intellect
Venkataraman Ramakrishnan
Indian born American, Venkataraman Ramakrishnan is a senior
scientist in the Structural Division at the Medical Research Council Laboratory
of Molecular Biology, in Cambridge, England. This great scholar has worked in
various fields of biology during the earlier part of his career. However, Venkat
along with Thomas A.
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