1001 Inventions PDF

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Paper and pen
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Why do you write texts or e-mails? Or keep a diary?

Or report on science experiments?
People write things down to communicate with others and to record
things. Of course, you can only write if you have the tools and
materials you need.
Ink
People have used ink for centuries. More than a thousand years ago, Muslims
improved ink making techniques. They developed new types of ink, too. Jabir
ibn Hayyan made an ink that showed up in the dark. By 1100 CE Ibn Badis was
making silver ink by grinding silver filings with distilled wine. He also described
making coloured inks and secret writing!
Professional scribes used lampblack ink. They made it like this:
Burn linseed oil in a lamp, without much air. The equation shows the products
of the reaction.
linseed oil + oxygen
water + carbon dioxide + carbon monoxide + carbon
(from air)
The carbon is a black powder soot.
Hold paper or sheepskin above the flame to collect the soot.
Mix the soot with water and gum arabic (sap from an Acacia senegal tree).
The soot does not dissolve. Instead, it mixes with the liquids to make a
suspension.
When you write with this ink, the carbon stays on the surface of the paper. So
the writing looks very smooth, and you can wipe it off if you make a mistake.
Lampblack ink never fades. Its quality is as good as some modern inks.
The first chapter of the

Quran in Jali Diwani style
Pens
For many years, people used specially cut reeds as pens. But there was nowhere to store ink in them,
so they werent very convenient. In 953 an Egyptian sultan recorded how his friend, al-Muizz, had a
creative idea for a new sort of pen:
We wish to construct a pen whose ink will be contained inside it. A person can fill it with ink and write
whatever he likes.
Within a few days, a craftsman had made a pen just like this. It didnt spill ink even when
upside down. It didnt leave stains on hands or clothes. And it didnt need an ink pot
because it had its own, hidden away.
Al-Muizzs clever idea, and the craftsmans careful work, meant that people could
write with pens containing their own ink, wherever they were. Fountain pens
only became common in Europe 900 years later.
www.1001inventions.com
2007 by the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation (FSTC), UK
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Paper
Eleven hundred years ago Muslims started making paper in Baghdad.
They learnt to make it from some Chinese prisoners:
Make a pulp from the raw material and water. This separates
the fibres of the raw material.
Collect the fibres on a mesh. This makes a paper web.
Press the paper web and dry it in air.
The Chinese made their paper from mulberry tree bark. The Muslims
experimented with other raw materials, including hemp and cotton.
Hemp paper was particularly good. The Muslims also made paper
from linen rags an early example of recycling!
Soon, huge amounts of paper were being made all over the Islamic
world. Muslims took their paper-making techniques to many other
parts of the world, too. More paper led to cheaper books, so ideas
and knowledge spread quickly.
19th century manuscript showing

paper making process
Images from Muslim Heritage in our World, FSTC (2006), pages 84 (calligraphy) and 136 (paper making).
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Ink jet printers
Have you ever used a bubble jet printer?

Theyve been around for only 20 years, but
now most home computer users wouldnt
want to be without one.
Bubble jet printers store ink in cartridges. When the printer
is ready to print, ink moves to the print head. The print head
has up to 600 tiny nozzles. Tiny jets of ink come out of
these nozzles to make dots on the paper. Each dot is smaller
than the diameter of a human hair. And every dot ends up
in exactly the right place to make the shapes of the letters
and pictures in the document.
How do ink jets come out of the nozzles?

In each nozzle, a tiny electric heater transfers heat to the ink
HEATER
Next to the heater, a tiny amount of ink vaporizes to make a bubble

The bubble gets bigger.
The expanding bubble pushes ink out of the nozzle.
When the bubble pops, more ink moves from the cartridge to the
print head.
INK
CASING
BUBBLE THAT
GETS BIGGER
AND FORCES
THE INK OUT
OF THE NOZZLE
Forcing jets of liquid through small holes isnt new. More than twelve hundred
years ago Banu Musa of Baghdad, Iraq, used sophisticated techniques to
make incredible water fountains that directed water in particular directions.
NOZZLE
Whats in ink?
Ink has always been a mixture of a liquid carrier with dyes or pigments. A thousand years ago, scientists of the
Islamic world worked hard to make better and better ink for pens. Now, scientists continue to develop inks for
both pens and printers. Most bubble jet printer ink is a mixture of chemicals. The mixture includes:
A pigment to colour the ink. Pigments are tiny crystals. The most important pigment is carbon black. This
is the soot made by burning hydrocarbon compounds (like oil or natural gas) without much air.
Coloured ink needs coloured pigments. Years ago, these pigments were compounds of metals like lead.
Then scientists realised they were poisonous. So they developed safer coloured pigments based on carbon
compounds.
A liquid to mix with the pigment crystals and carry them from the ink cartridge and onto the paper. The
pigment crystals do not dissolve in the liquid. Water is used most often. A few years ago, other liquids
were used. But scientists discovered that some of these cause cancer. So they cannot be added to ink for
home use.
Additives to improve the quality of the ink. These include:
o Driers to make the ink dry quickly on the paper
o Chemicals to stop ink drying on the printer
o Biocides to stop micro-organisms living in the ink
o Deodorants to cover up bad ink smells
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Compass
Its 1900. Youre on a cruise ship, bound for New York.

How does the crew make sure you get to the right place?
They use a navigational compass, as sailors have done
for centuries.
Before compasses, sailors navigated by the Sun and the stars. Some
used sounding lines to measure the seas depth, too. This was fine in
the seas around the Islamic world, where skies were often clear and
waters mostly shallow. But in other places sailors needed a better way
of finding their way around. This might explain why the Chinese were
probably the first to make and use a compass. The compass is described
in a Chinese book of 1044 on military techniques
We dont know how scientists invented the compass. No-one is sure,
either, how the compass got to the Islamic world. But Muslim scientists
were quick to use it and improve it.
The earliest written evidence of Muslims using the magnetic compass is in Muhammad al-Awfis Collection
of Stories. The year was 1233. The voyage was over the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf. The compass was a
fish-shaped piece of iron. It worked like this:
Float the magnetic fish in a bowl of water.

The fish rotates until it stops.
One end of the fish now points south.
WATER
IRON FISH
Rub the iron fish with a magnetic stone.

The iron fish becomes magnetic.
DISH
Of course the other end of the fish magnet points north. This pole is the north-seeking pole.
The stone (lodestone) contains magnetic iron oxide, Fe3O4.
In 1242, Baylak al-Qibjaqi sailed from Tripoli to Alexandria. He wrote about his journey in The Treasure Book
of Merchants in Travels, and included a description of the compass they used. The description is so detailed
you can use it to make a compass today.
Make a cross from an iron needle and a rush.
NEEDLE
Put the cross in a bowl of water. It floats.

Bring a magnetic stone close to the cross.
Move the stone in a circle above the cross.
The cross follows the moving stone.
RUSH
WATER
DISH
Suddenly, take the magnetic stone away.

The needle will be in a north-south line.
Reliable compasses meant that Muslims could travel anywhere by boat, without getting lost. So they could
trade goods and exchange ideas all over the world. Between 1400 and 1433 the Chinese Muslim Zheng
He used compasses on voyages all over the Indian Ocean. He made these journeys before Christopher
Columbus was born, on ships five times bigger.
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SATNAV
Would you like your Mum to know exactly where you

are, every second of the day? Well, now she can, if you
wear a buddi satellite tracking device, invented in 2007
by Sara Murray. You can even get petbuddis, too!
The buddi relies on the Global Positioning System (GPS). But GPS wasnt
invented to track teenagers!
For many years, the US military used compasses and sextants to navigate
just as Muslim sailors had for centuries before them. But in the 1960s, the
US military wanted to a method that was quicker and easier to use. They
decided to develop a satellite system. The army, air force and navy came up
with designs and ideas. By 1973, the best ideas had been incorporated into
the final design of NAVSTAR GPS.
Before GPS
How does NAVSTAR GPS work?
More than a thousand years ago, Muslim sailors used

astrolabes to pinpoint their position. Meriam al-Ijli, a
woman engineer, manufactured many high quality
astrolabes in Aleppo-Syria.
She died in 967, age 23.
GPS has 24 satellites that orbit 20,000 km above

Earth. The satellites transmit radio signals. At any
one time, everywhere on Earth receives signals from
four or more satellites.
How is GPS useful?

The US military originally wanted to keep GPS to itself.
It uses GPS to deliver weapons to their exact targets, and
for navigation.
But in 1983 a South Korean aeroplane flew the wrong way.
The plane was shot down, killing all 269 people on board.
This tragedy influenced US President Reagans decision
to announce that anyone could use GPS.
The radio signals from a satellite give its position and

the time the signal was sent. A receiver picks up the
signals. The receiver works out the time taken for a
signal to get to it. The receiver knows the speed of
the radio signal. So it calculates its distance from the
satellite using the equation:
distance = speed x time
At the same time, the receiver calculates its distance
from two other satellites. It uses these distances to
work out its location to within a few metres.
Now, people use GPS to:
navigate in cars, aeroplanes and boats

help in emergency and rescue work
find out whats happening in earthquakes
track animals for scientific research
track offenders, sons, daughters and pets
Whats the future for SATNAV?

In 2007, GPS was the only working satellite navigation system. It is controlled by the US military, who can switch it off
at any time. Soon, Europe, India and China will all have their own systems.
Ships still have compasses and sextants on board, just like the ones that Muslim sailors used and improved over 1000
years ago. Modern ships use them as a back-up to GPS they dont need electricity and the US military cant switch
them off.
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Keeping clean
Do you like to smell good and feel clean? If so, you probably use soap!
Muslims have been creating sweetly-scented soaps,
perfumes and deodorants for more than a thousand
years. They made hair dye and curling lotion, too.
Europeans began washing regularly with soap less
than 300 years ago.
Soap is made in a chemical reaction of an alkali with a fat or oil. There are the
remains of an eighth-century soap-making works in Syria. Al-Razi, who died in 925,
gives a short recipe for making soap in one of his books. The Arabic word for soap is saboon.
The earliest detailed recipe for soap making is more than 700 years old. It was written
down by a Yemeni king. The description is clear enough for someone to use today. The
words and pictures summarise the recipe and explain the science behind each step.
BIG CONTAINER WITH

HOLE IN THE BOTTOM
Make an alkaline solution
CLOTH
SMALL
PIECES
OF BRICK
Set up this apparatus.
Put wood ash, lime (calcium oxide) and water in the top container. Leave it overnight.
The lime, and chemicals from the ash, dissolve to make an alkaline solution.
Take the rags out of the hole. The cloth filters the solution.
The solution flows into the lower container.
React the alkaline solution with sesame oil
BIG CONTAINER IN A
HOLE IN THE GROUND
RAGS STUFFED
IN THE HOLE
4 Add half the solution from stage 3 to an equal volume of sesame oil.
5
Beat the mixture for one hour until it thickens. Leave it for 2-3 days.
COPPER
CAULDRON
6 Put the mixture in a copper cauldron.

Heat it over a hot fire. Stir so that it doesnt burn.
7
MIXTURE OF
ALKALINE SOLUTION
AND SESAME OIL
When the mixture thickens, add more alkaline solution from stage 3. Heat it again.
Repeat this stage until the soap is a very thick liquid. The chemical reaction is complete.
Mix perfume with the soap

8 Add perfumes to the soap, and saffron to colour it yellow.
This makes a mixture. There is no chemical reaction at this stage.
HOT FIRE
Let the soap harden

9 Make a wooden mould. Put a piece of cloth in it.
PIECE OF CLOTH
SOAP
10 Pour the soap into the cloth. Leave it to harden for a day and a night.
11 Cut the soap into pieces with a knife.
WOODEN MOULD
For many years, Muslim traders took soap to Europe, Asia and Africa. It was very valuable. As more people used soap,
hygiene and health improved. Today, techniques similar to those of the early Muslims soap-makers are used all over
the world.
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Keeping clean
Are you bothered by body odour? Anxious about acne?

Keen to be clean? All good reasons to use soap!
Making soap
Soap is made in a chemical reaction of an
alkali with a fat or oil:
fat + alkali
LIQUID FAT IN
soap + glycerol
Some modern factories use the process

below to make soap:
Pour liquid fat into 20 metre tall
stainless steel tower. Add very hot

water. The fat breaks down to make
fatty acids and glycerol. Pump out the
fatty acids and the glycerol. Purify the
fatty acids by distillation.
STAINLESS
STEEL TOWER
FATTY ACIDS OUT
GLYCEROL OUT
A LKA
LI
Mix the purified fatty acids with an
exact amount of alkali. Stir while the

substances react.
Add fragrance and continue mixing.

Pour the liquid soap into a mould.
Wait for it to harden.
Cut the slab into small bars of soap.
MIXTURE OF FATTY
ACIDS AND ALKALI
How does soap work?

When you wash, one end of each soap molecule joins to oil, dirt and bacteria. The other end joins to water.
So oil, dirt and bacteria get surrounded by waterand are easily washed away.
Thorough hand-washing with soap and warm water prevents the spread of many diseases.
What about antibacterial soap?

Modern companies want to make money. So they develop new products that
people might want. One of these products is antibacterial soap.
Armpit sweat contains oils. Bacteria feed on the oils. The bacteria make waste
products with pungent smells. This smelly waste is body odour. Antibacterial
soaps contain chemicals like triclosan, or alcohols. These chemicals kill bacteria
or slow down their growth. So bacteria that cause body odour or disease
are removed.
But do antibacterial soaps work? Only if you leave them on your skin for two
minutes. And some scientists say that antibacterial soaps remove useful
bacteria that defend our bodies against disease. So perhaps ordinary
soap is just as good at getting us clean and stopping diseases spreading
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Diamond, ruby and sapphire
Which of these gemstones would you like to give

or receive as a gift?
People have enjoyed wearing gemstones for centuries.
Muslims living a thousand years ago were no
exception. Of course, everyone wanted the most
beautiful jewelsand to pay fair prices for them.
Gemstones are special types of minerals. They are
rare, beautiful and hard. The Ancient Egyptians,
Greeks and Indians, as well as the Romans, knew a
great deal about gemstones. Starting just over a
thousand years ago, Muslim scientists continued to
build on and extend this knowledge.
Al-Biruni (973 1050 CE)
observed gemstones
carefully. He recorded his
observations in detail.
[Rubies] possess different characteristics

with respect to brightness of the colour,
clarity, glitter, sheen, reflection, and purity
from blemishes, and their prices go up
according to these characteristics.
If scarlet blood is spread over a clean piece
of silver, the resultant coloration would be
like that of the pomegranate-coloured ruby.
Al-Biruni also classified gems. He grouped them

according to the properties below:
Colour
Powder colour
Dispersion (whether white light splits up into the
colours of the rainbow when it goes through the gem)
Hardness
Crystal shape
Density
People had studied some of these properties many years
earlier. Al-Biruni and other Muslims developed the work
of the earlier scientists. Al-Biruni also used combinations
of properties to identify gemstones.
Crystal shape
Al-Tifashi studied crystal shape. More than 700 years ago he
described diamond crystals:
The faces are triangles. If [a diamond] is broken, the faces will be
triangular, even at the smallest parts.
Two hundred years earlier, Al-Biruni used crystal shape to help him
decide whether a gemstone was quartz or diamond.
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Density
Density is the mass of something in a certain size. Al-Biruni invented a
piece of apparatus to measure density. It worked like this:
Fill the apparatus with water to the mark.

Weigh a piece of the mineral and put it in the water.
Measure the volume of water that comes out of the pipe end.
This is the same as the volume of the mineral.
Calculate the density of the mineral.
Use the equation density = mass volume.
Al-Birunis results were very accurate. He used them to help him identify minerals.
Name of mineral
Ruby
Pearl
Quartz
Relative density compared to water (water = 1)

Al-Birunis result
Modern result
4.01
4.40
2.7
2.7
2.58
2.58
Al-Birunis apparatus was based on the work of the Greek scientist Archimedes, who worked out how
to use water displacement to measure volume and so calculate density.
Hardness
Hardness is the ability of a mineral to scratch other minerals. The softer mineral is the one that is
scratched. Al-Biruni experimented with hardness. He wrote:
I have started my book describing diamond before all other gems because it is the leader or master.
It scratches corundum and corundum scratches what comes below itHowever, corundum cannot
scratch diamond.
Al-Biruni used hardness to help him identify minerals.
Today, scientists and jewellers still use some of Al-Birunis techniques to identify gemstones. They also
use newer techniques and more sophisticated apparatus to help them learn more about gems.
Image above from al-Khazini's Kitab mizan al-hikma, book III, chapter 1, section 2: Hayderabad, al-Uthmaniya University Publications, 1940, p. 59, figure 14.
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Genuine gems?
Sarah bought a diamond ring. It was cheaper than she

expected. Later, she worried the gemstone wasnt
genuine. She took it to another jeweller to find out.
The jeweller looked at the gemstone. She said it
could be diamond, cubic zirconia or Moissanite.
Of these three, only diamond is found naturally.
The others are manufactured, and are not
as valuable.
Scientists have devised many
tests to identify gemstones.
The jeweller used some of the
properties below:
Colour
Powder colour
Dispersion, or fire
(how much does white light
split up into the colours of
the rainbow when it goes
through the gemstone?)
Hardness
Crystal shape
Density
Refractive index
(how much does the
direction of a light ray
change when it goes
into the gemstone?)
Thermal conductivity
(how well does the
gemstone conduct heat?)
Electrical conductivity
(how well does the
gemstone conduct
electricity?)
X-ray diffraction
(what happens to X-rays
when they travel through
the gemstone?)
Muslims scientists used some of these tests more than a thousand

years ago. Scientists developed other tests more recently. For
example, scientists could only use refractive index once they had
found a way of measuring it. X-ray diffraction could only be used
once X-rays were discovered. Apparatus to measure gemstone
electrical conductivity quickly was invented after 1998. Before then,
there was no need for it as there was no Moissanite jewellery to pass
off as diamond!
The jeweller found that Sarahs gemstone split

white light into the colours of the rainbow very
well. It conducted heat well. It did not conduct
electricity. What was the gemstone?
Diamond
Cubic zirconia
Moissanite
When was it first

discovered or made?
Discovered thousands
of years ago
Large amounts first

made in 1976
Gemstones first made

in 1998
Whats in it?
The element carbon, C
The compound
zirconium dioxide,
ZrO2
The compound silicon

carbide, SiC
Colour
Most have a
yellow/brown tinge
Colourless
Many have a green

tinge
Dispersion
0.04
0.06
0.10
10.0
8.5-9.0
9.0
Density in g/cm
3.6
6.1
3.2
Refractive index
2.4
2.2
2.7
Does it conduct heat

well?
Yes
No
Yes
Does it conduct
electricity?
No
No
Yes
(biggest value has most fire)
Hardness
3
(biggest value changes light

direction most)
In solving this problem youve probably put together several

pieces of evidence, just as Muslim experts did when
identifying gemstones more than a thousand years ago.
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Clean air
Have you ever coughed in a smoke-filled room, or breathed in traffic fumes?

Not nice! Muslim architects have provided clean air in buildings for centuries.
The Turkish architect Sinan designed more than
80 mosques and 50 schools. His Suleymaniye
Mosque, finished in 1557, is magnificent. It is one
of the first big public buildings to have a system
for supplying fresh air to the people inside
it.
Sinan knew that the mosque would
be lit by hundreds of candles and oil
lamps. The equation shows the products
of the burning reaction of candle wax:
Suleymaniye Mosque,
Istanbul, Turkey
wax +oxygen
water + carbon dioxide
monoxide + carbon
+ carbo
The carbon is a fine black powder soot. Normally,

convection currents would make the soot spread
through the whole mosque. But Sinan didnt
want the beautifully-decorated inside walls to
go black. He didnt want worshippers to
breathe in dirty air. Also, he didnt want to
send soot into the city air outside. So Sinan
experimented with air currents and
thought creatively about his results to
make sure the air and the walls stayed clean.
One of these experiments apparently involved Sinan sitting in the centre
of the unfinished mosque smoking a hubble bubble pipe. Suddenly, Sultan
Suleyman, who was paying for the mosque, turned up. He was furious
to find Sinan not getting on with his work, and even more furious to find
him smoking in a holy place. The Sultan calmed down when Sinan
explained that he was testing his newly-designed ventilation system
A Hubble Bubble Pipe
The ventilation system involved drawing currents of smoky air through

a vent and into a small chamber above the entrance hall. Soot was
deposited on the chamber walls, and was collected to make ink. The
stale air left the building, with very little soot getting to the outside
environment. Fresh air came in to replace the polluted air through vents
near the floor. So it wasnt necessary to open the windows especially
on cold winter days.
European and North American architects took a while to catch on to lowenergy natural ventilation systems like that of the Suleymaniye Mosque.
A similar ventilation system in a 2005 London building is seen as new
and exciting.
Image of Sinan from Muslim Heritage in our World, FSTC (2006), page336.
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Clean air
Have you ever felt sleepy in a hot, stuffy building? Does stale air give you a headache?
Air conditioning can solve these problems. But air conditioning runs on electricity.
And generating electricity makes greenhouse gases.
The architects designing a university building in London in 2005
were worried about greenhouse gases. So they used natural
ventilation to keep the air fresh (and the students awake.)
The architects were inspired by Westminsters Central Hall,
which was finished in 1912. A huge paddle wheel brought in
air through the dome. The air moved down. Then it left the
building through big doors and chimneys. So fresh air always
filled the building. Nobody knows if the Westminster Hall
architects were influenced by or even knew about the similar
natural ventilation system in Turkeys Suleymaniye Mosque,
built 350 years earlier.
Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London
The 2005 architects designed a natural ventilation system to keep the new university building cool
however hot the weather. They used computer models to help them, and did lots of calculations.
The architects made a small-scale model of the building, too.
Air enters at the top of the atrium, where it passes through cooling coils. The cool air moves
downwards. It supplies air to each floor of the building. This air warms up as it goes through
classrooms and offices. Then the warmer air leaves the building.
AIR OUT
COOLING COILS
AIR IN
AIR OUT
ATRIUM
OFFICES AND
CLASSROOMS
ATRIUM
Natural ventilation in a new building

at University College, London.
The architects wanted the warm air to leave the

building through huge chimneys. They asked a
scientist to check whether this would work. The
scientist made a see-through model of the
building in a water tank. He pumped in coloured
fresh and salty water to represent warm and cold
air. He filmed the movement of the water through
the model to track the airflow through the
building.
The tests showed up a problem. The natural
ventilation system wouldnt work on hot days
the air was cooler inside than outside so it
wouldnt go up the chimneys. A building engineer
advised the architects to add low-level vents.
On hot days, air will exit the building through
these vents.
The architects have written about the new buildings natural ventilation system in scientific journals
and on the Internet. They hope others will be influenced by this environmentally-friendly method
of temperature control.
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Moon
Have you ever marvelled at the Moons magnificence? Or wondered why its shape
changes? Or considered where it goes when you cant see it?
People have wondered about the Moon for centuries. Four
thousand years ago, Chinese observers recorded lunar eclipses.
Around 740 BCE, Babylonians discovered an 18-year pattern of
lunar eclipses. At the same time, the Ancient Greeks used
calendars based on the cycles of the Moon. Around 500 CE, the
Indian astronomer Aryabhata worked out why eclipses happen.
At about the same time, Central American observers calculated
the phases of the Moon.
Muslim astronomy started in earnest in about 800 CE. The
astronomers were determined to build on earlier discoveries and
learn all they could about this amazing mystery in the sky. They
were probably the first to develop the scientific study of astronomy
from the non-scientific study of astrology.
Muslims had important reasons to learn about

the Moon:
Muslims face Makka when they pray.
So they need to know the direction of Makka
from everywhere on Earth.
The Muslim calendar depends on the phases
of the Moon. Each month begins with the
first sighting of the crescent Moon. Muslims
wanted to predict when new months would
start particularly the holy month of Ramadan.
Many Muslim astronomers worked in enormous
observatories. One of the worlds first
observatories opened in Baghdad, Iraq, in 828 CE.
The astronomers used huge pieces of apparatus
sometimes as long as ten cars end to end to
make detailed and accurate observations. One
vital piece of apparatus was the astrolabe. Meriam
al-Ijli made many of these before she died in 967,
aged 23. The astronomers recorded their
observations so carefully that astronomers today
can still make sense of them.
Next the astronomers looked for patterns in their
observations. They used the patterns to do
calculations and make predictions. One
astronomer, Al-Battani, who died in 929 CE,
worked out the timings of new Moons. He
correctly predicted eclipses many years into
the future.
Astronomers at work in an observatory
Images from Muslim Heritage in our World, FSTC (2006), pages 289 (observatory) and 303 (lunar eclipse).
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Moon
Al-Biruni, who died in 1050 CE, worked out how to use

the position of the Sun and Moon to find the direction of
Makka from anywhere on Earth. Like the Indian
astronomer Aryabhata, who lived 500 years earlier,
Al-Biruni interpreted evidence to suggest that the Earth
rotates on its own axis. Today, many students are taught
that the Polish scientist Copernicus discovered this around
the year 1500 CE.
Al-Biruni also did calculations to predict the Earths
circumference. He did an experiment to check his
prediction. This involved taking a camel caravan on a
very long walk to measure the distance of a one degree
arc of the Earths curvature.
A manuscript showing the lunar eclipse.
Muslim astronomers made many other discoveries. Al-Khujandi calculated the tilt of the Earth. Omar
Khyayyam calculated that a year is 365.24219858156 days long. This is correct to the first 6 decimal places.
Muslim star maps were used for centuries in Europe and the Far East. Today, more than 165 stars have names
based on their original Arabic names, for example Altair, the flying eagle. And modern astronomers still use
instruments based on those invented or improved by Muslim astronomers over a thousand years ago.
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Universe
Have you ever stared at the night skys stunning

stars? Do you wonder where they all come from
or where theyll end up?
Astronomers have observed, named and mapped
the stars for centuries. A thousand years ago, Muslim
astronomers used huge instruments in enormous
observatories to look at the sky. Recently, curiosity
has motivated scientists to develop better and better
telescopes. Analysing these observations, and
thinking about them creatively, has expanded our
understanding of the Universe.
More than 60 years ago, an astronomer had a brilliant idea. How
about launching a telescope into space? Without the Earths
atmosphere blocking its view, the telescope would see details of
stars that had never been seen before.
In 1990, space shuttle Discovery launched the Hubble Space
Telescope. It began to orbit 600 km above Earth at 16 800
mile/hour.
The Hubble Space Telescope
But there was a problem. Hubbles huge curved mirror was not
curved enough. So Hubble sent blurry images back to Earth.
Scientists worked hard to solve the problem. Three years later,
astronauts fitted coin-sized mirrors to Hubble. Now the images
were much clearer. Hubbles real work could begin.
Hubble has solved many astronomical mysteriesand created

new questions.
Through analysing data from Hubble, scientists have learnt more
about:
The age of the Universe
How quickly the Universe is expanding and that it is probably
getting faster
Black holes and that they are at the centre of most galaxies
Hubble has also captured amazing images of exciting events,
like Jupiters collision with a comet. This event happens once
every few centuries
One of the images of comets collision with Jupiter taken by

the Hubble Space Telescope
The European Space Agency and NASA run Hubble. Scientists from all over the world ask Hubble to take
images. Astronomers publish their findings from Hubble in scientific journals. There are many dramatic
images from the telescope on the Internet. In recording and sharing their discoveries, todays astronomers
are building on the work of Muslim scientists who produced detailed written records of their findings a
thousand years ago.
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Winning smile
Have you ever got food stuck between your teeth?

Needed a filling? Had toothache?
People have tried to prevent tooth decay for centuries.
Muslims have cleaned their teeth regularly for more than
1500 years, and they continue to gargle and wash their
mouths before each of the five daily prayers. In Europe,
teeth cleaning became common less than 200 years ago.
Most Americans only learnt about teeth cleaning when
their soldiers returned from Europe in 1945 after the
Second World War.
Tooth disease is infectious. Many bacteria live in your mouth including Streptococcus mutans. This type of
bacteria causes tooth decay. It sticks to the surface of teeth as plaque. It digests sugars to make lactic acid.
The lactic acid dissolves and weakens tooth enamel. So your teeth get holes in them.
This is a miswak twig (left). For many centuries, people have used miswak to clean their teeth.
In the sixth century, Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) used miswak before each prayer. He recommended
that others use Miswak regularly, too.
People cut miswak twigs from the twigs or roots of the Salvadora persica tree. Other trees for
example walnut also work well. People probably discovered which were best by trial and error.
Recent research on miswak

Study A
Two scientists one from Saudi Arabia and one from the
USA studied the effect of miswak on tooth decay bacteria.
They recruited 40 male volunteers aged 20 to 45 and put
them into four groups:
Ten men cleaned their teeth with miswak twigs
Ten cleaned their teeth with toothbrushes
(without toothpaste)
Ten rinsed their mouths with salty water
Ten rinsed their mouths with a solution made from miswak
Each person gave a saliva sample before and after cleaning or rinsing.
Streptococcus mutans bacteria
The scientists measured the amount of Streptococcus mutans bacteria in each sample. In all four
groups, there was less after cleaning or rinsing. The greatest reduction in the amount of Streptococcus
mutans was for men in the miswak twig group.
The scientists want to do more research. They hope to study more people for a longer time. They
want to add another group and get them to brush with toothpaste. They will take into account
how much sugar the volunteers eat, and how healthy their teeth are to start with.
A miswak stick
Image of miswak twig from Muslim Heritage in our World, FSTC (2006), pages 23.
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Winning smile
Study B
Swedish scientists studied the teeth of 15 people.
Each person cleaned their teeth with miswak for
three weeks and with a toothbrush for three weeks.
The scientists took photos of their teeth. They
found that miswak removed more plaque than a
toothbrush.
Study C
Norwegian scientists wanted to find out which
chemicals in miswak destroy tooth-disease bacteria.
They found several possibilities, including sodium
chloride, potassium chloride and compounds of
sulfur and nitrogen. Some reports also claim that
miswak contains fluoride compounds, vitamin C
and triclosan.
Muslims and others in many parts of the world still clean their teeth with miswak. Modern scientific
evidence shows that using miswak is a good way of preventing tooth decay. Miswak has had a huge impact
on dental health worldwide.
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Toothpaste
Do you know whats in your toothpaste?

Its probably a mixture of at least twelve compounds.
Every substance in toothpaste does its own job. Toothpaste companies
employ scientists to decide on the best chemical for each job. The
scientists work out the quantities to mix together. They make sure the
toothpaste tastes and feels good so that people will buy it. They also
check that the toothpaste will not harm anyone.
Not everyone in the world uses toothpaste. Many Muslims and others
clean their teeth with miswak twigs. Several scientific studies show
that using miswak is just as effective as or even better than using a
toothbrush and toothpaste.
Whats in toothpaste?
Fluoride
After every meal, bacteria in your mouth digest sugars to make
lactic acid. The acid breaks down tooth enamel. Fluoride works
with calcium and phosphate particles in your saliva to make
new tooth enamel. So youre less likely to get holes in your
teeth. The source of fluoride in most toothpaste brands is
sodium fluoride.
Abrasives
Abrasives scrub away sticky plaque. They help remove food stains, too.
At first toothpowders invented by the Egyptians in 5000 BCE contained
powdered eggshells and pumice as abrasives. Greek and Roman toothpowders
included crushed bones and shells. Around 1000 CE, Persian Muslims warned
that hard abrasives damage tooth enamel. Others realised this much later
in the 1700s, British toothpowder still contained hard abrasives like brick dust.
Modern toothpastes contain less hard abrasives, like silicon dioxide (silica)
or titanium dioxide.
Detergents and foaming agents
Detergents help to clean teeth. They also provide foam to help carry away dirt. Sodium lauryl sulfate is a
common toothpaste detergent.
Flavourings and sweeteners
Early toothpowders contained sugar. When scientists discovered that sugar causes tooth decay, they looked
for other sweeteners. Now, many toothpaste brands contain the sweetener sorbitol.
Thickeners and binding agents
Chemicals like xanthan gum and carageenan thicken toothpastes and bind all the ingredients together.
Carageenan comes from red seaweed.
Other ingredients
Some toothpastes contain substances like triclosan, to kill bacteria. Sensitive teeth toothpastes often contain
substances like strontium chloride to block up tiny holes. Whitening toothpastes include compounds like
hydrogen peroxide to bleach teeth.
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Pharmacy
Have you ever used tablets, ointments or syrupy medicines?

So did the people of Baghdad, Iraq, more than 1100 years ago.
The Muslim pharmacists of ninth century Baghdad
were very skilled. They knew how to make, store
and preserve a huge variety of medicinal drugs.
Most pharmacies were family-run businesses. So
parents taught their children all they needed to
know to become future pharmacists.
A 13th century Arabic version of Dioscorides

De Materia Medica showing a pharmacy with
chemists preparing medications.
The Baghdad pharmacists built on the work of

earlier pharmacists from Mesopotamia, Egypt,
Greece, India and China. They found out about
Greek medicines by translating Greek pharmacists
books. They learnt of Chinese medicines when
people travelled between China and the Islamic
world. They also inherited traditional medicines
from the Babylonians and Assyrians.
A thousand years ago, expert Muslim pharmacists knew of more than 700 medicines.
Ibn Sina listed them all alphabetically in a book, and described the uses of each one.
Other scientists listed medicines, too. Many books about medicines include reports
of personal observations and experiments. Al-Birunis book mentions the findings
of other scientists, and shows that they dont always agree!
Manuscript with pharmacological tables ascribed

to Ibn al-Baytar.
Several of these early books were translated from Arabic into Latin. Because the
books were so well organised, they were easy to use. And because they were based
on observation and experiment, they were reliable. The books influenced European
pharmacists for centuries.
Today, there are lots of different ways of taking the medicines

you need. The same was true in the Islamic world: syrups, tablets,
capsules and ointments were all available. Pharmacists also mixed
bitter-tasting powders with honey or jam to make them taste
better.
Al-Zahrawi knew that, when taking a mixture of powdered
medicines, it was no use just mixing the powders in a bottle. The
lighter particles would go to the top, and the heavier ones to the
bottom. The patient would get the wrong dose of both medicines.
So Al-Zahrawi made tablets from powder mixtures. He wrapped
single doses of mixed powders in silver foil, too. Al-Zahrawi also
experimented with catgut. As a surgeon, he had used it to stitch
up internal organs. As the wound healed, the catgut broke down
and dissolved away without infection. He tried wrapping single
doses of mixed powdered medicines in catgut. Patients swallowed
the catgut parcels. The parcels slowly disintegrated in their
stomachs. This released the medicines inside them.
It is vital to get the dose of a medicine correct!

The Muslim scientist Al-Kindi realised this
more than a thousand years ago. He did lots
of calculations to work out medicine doses.
Al-Kindi was one of the first scientists to use
maths in science.
A thousand years ago just as today some
medicines were very expensive. Others werent
always available. So Al-Kindi looked for and
wrote lists of alternative medicines that people
could use instead. Today, there are often
several alternative medicines for treating an
illness. And doctors often look at the cost
before deciding which to prescribe.
Muslim doctors did not rely only on medicines. They also

prescribed special foods and diets to prevent and treat illnesses
just like doctors today. A thousand years ago, Ibn Al-Adeem
wrote detailed instructions for 3000 of these recipes.
Images from Muslim Heritage in our World, FSTC (2006), pages 184 (top left) and 187 (lower left).
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Pharmacy 2
Do you find it easy to swallow tablets, or do you prefer to take

liquid medicines or have injections?
The way a medicinal drug gets into your body affects
how well it works. Muslim pharmacists knew this more
than a thousand years ago. Thats why they made tablets,
capsules, syrups and ointments.
Scientists in pharmaceutical companies continue to
improve drug delivery. They want to make sure that
a drug gets to the right part of your body at the right
time.
People with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

Disorder) find it hard to concentrate. They are often
restless and impulsive. They may be forgetful and
disorganised.
Many people with ADHD do not need medicines. They can
learn to manage their condition. But some doctors recommend taking medicines
like Ritalin or Concerta.
Many people with ADHD take three doses of tablets every day. But its hard to remember to take tablets
at school. Some people feel embarrassed taking Ritalin, too. So a pharmaceutical company decided to
develop a drug that lasted all day. People with ADHD would need just one tablet. They could take it in the
morning before school.
First, scientists made a tablet that released its active ingredient gradually, all day. The concentration of the
drug in the bloodstream was always the same. But this didnt work well. The body gets used to the drug
being in the body, and stops responding to it.
So the scientists realised they needed a drug that released its ingredients into the blood in short bursts
just like having separate doses of the drug. The capsule they devised has several layers:
The first layer is a drug overcoat. It dissolves quickly and gets into the bloodstream fast.
The inner layers push the drug out gradually through a tiny hole. For the next eight hours, small amounts
of the drug come out of the hole. So the concentration of the drug in the bloodstream changes all
the time.
Other scientists worked out a different system. They put tiny amounts of the drug in separate
beads. Then they put the beads in a capsule. The coating on some of the beads dissolves
quickly. The drug from these beads gets into the bloodstream quickly. The coating on
the other beads dissolves slowly. These beads deliver the drug to the bloodstream
during the whole school day.
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Research findings
School:
Names of group members:
Title of topic:
What did the scientists discover or invent? How will this help the people of City 1250?
Why did the scientists want to find out about this?
Who did the science?

When did they do the science?
Scientists make observations or do experiments to collect data record data analyse and evaluate
evidence explain things that happen develop and test theories communicate with other
scientists consider further research needs.
Which of these did the scientists do? How?
What was the impact of the discovery or invention on:
Peoples lives?
Future science?
Sources of information:
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Research findings
School:
Names of group members:
Title of topic:
What did the scientists discover or invent?
Why did the scientists want to find out about this?
Who paid for the science to be done?

Who did the science?
When did they do the science?
Scientists make observations or do experiments to collect data record data analyse and evaluate
evidence explain things that happen develop and test theories communicate with other
scientists consider future research needs.
Which of these did the scientists do? How?
What do you think the impact of the discovery or invention has been or will be on:
Peoples lives?
Future science?
Sources of information:
Moon and stars
Pharmacy
Teeth
Explanation of
How Science
Works ideas
Analysis of how
Muslim science
influenced
recent science
Overall
educational
value
Entertainment
value
Clarity of
descriptions and
explanations
07:18
Soap
Key points
Rating to
11/8/08
Topic
Group reports
downloadable
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Paper and Pen
Clean Air
Jewels
Explanation of
How Science
Works ideas
Analysis of how
Muslim science
influenced
recent science
Overall
educational
value
Entertainment
value
Clarity of
descriptions and
explanations
07:18
Compass and SatNav
Key points
Rating to
11/8/08
Topic
Group reports
downloadable
Page 4

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Paper and pen

Why do you write texts or e-mails? Or keep a diary?

The first chapter of the

19th century manuscript showing

Ink jet printers

Have you ever used a bubble jet printer?

How do ink jets come out of the nozzles?

Next to the heater, a tiny amount of ink vaporizes to make a bubble

Its 1900. Youre on a cruise ship, bound for New York.

Float the magnetic fish in a bowl of water.

Rub the iron fish with a magnetic stone.

Put the cross in a bowl of water. It floats.

Suddenly, take the magnetic stone away.

Would you like your Mum to know exactly where you

How does NAVSTAR GPS work?

More than a thousand years ago, Muslim sailors used

GPS has 24 satellites that orbit 20,000 km above

How is GPS useful?

The radio signals from a satellite give its position and

Now, people use GPS to:

navigate in cars, aeroplanes and boats

Whats the future for SATNAV?

BIG CONTAINER WITH

Make an alkaline solution

Set up this apparatus.

React the alkaline solution with sesame oil

6 Put the mixture in a copper cauldron.

Mix perfume with the soap

Let the soap harden

Are you bothered by body odour? Anxious about acne?

Some modern factories use the process

Pour liquid fat into 20 metre tall

stainless steel tower. Add very hot

FATTY ACIDS OUT

Mix the purified fatty acids with an

exact amount of alkali. Stir while the

Add fragrance and continue mixing.

Cut the slab into small bars of soap.

How does soap work?

What about antibacterial soap?

Diamond, ruby and sapphire

Which of these gemstones would you like to give

[Rubies] possess different characteristics

Al-Biruni also classified gems. He grouped them

Fill the apparatus with water to the mark.

Relative density compared to water (water = 1)

Sarah bought a diamond ring. It was cheaper than she

Muslims scientists used some of these tests more than a thousand

The jeweller found that Sarahs gemstone split

When was it first

Large amounts first

Gemstones first made

The element carbon, C

The compound silicon

Many have a green

Does it conduct heat

(biggest value has most fire)

(biggest value changes light

In solving this problem youve probably put together several

Have you ever coughed in a smoke-filled room, or breathed in traffic fumes?

The carbon is a fine black powder soot. Normally,