Aryabhata

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Aryabhata (disambiguation).
ryabhaa (

Statue of Aryabhatta on the grounds of IUCAA,Pune. As there is no
known information regarding his appearance, any image of Aryabhata
originates from an artist's conception.
Born 476
Died 550
Era Gupta era
Region India
Main interests Maths, Astronomy
Major works ryabhaya, Arya-siddhanta
Aryabhata (IAST: ryabhaa, Sanskrit: ) (476550 CE) was the first in the line of great mathematician-
astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. His most famous works are
the ryabhaya (499 CE, when he was 23 years old) and the Arya-siddhanta.
Contents
[hide]
1 Biography
o 1.1 Name
o 1.2 Birth
o 1.3 Education
o 1.4 Other hypotheses
2 Works
o 2.1 Aryabhatiya
3 Mathematics
o 3.1 Place value system and zero
o 3.2 Approximation of
o 3.3 Trigonometry
o 3.4 Indeterminate equations
o 3.5 Algebra
4 Astronomy
o 4.1 Motions of the solar system
o 4.2 Eclipses
o 4.3 Sidereal periods
o 4.4 Heliocentrism
5 Legacy
6 See also
7 References
o 7.1 Other references
8 External links
[edit]Biography
[edit]Name
While there is a tendency to misspell his name as "Aryabhatta" by analogy with other names having the
"bhatta" suffix, his name is properly spelled Aryabhata: every astronomical text spells his name
thus,
[1]
including Brahmagupta's references to him "in more than a hundred places by name".
[2]
Furthermore, in
most instances "Aryabhatta" does not fit the metre either.
[1]

[edit]Birth
Aryabhata mentions in the Aryabhatiya that it was composed 3,630 years into the Kali Yuga, when he was 23
years old. This corresponds to 499 CE, and implies that he was born in 476 CE.

Aryabhata provides no information about his place of birth. The only information comes from Bhskara I, who
describes Aryabhata as makya, "one belonging to the amaka country." It is widely attested that, during the
Buddha's time, a branch of the Amaka people settled in the region between the Narmada and Godavari rivers
in central India, today the South GujaratNorth Maharashtra region. Aryabhata is believed to have been born
there.
[1][3]
However, early Buddhist texts describe Ashmaka as being further south, in dakshinapath or
the Deccan, while other texts describe the Ashmakas as having fought Alexander,
[edit]Education
It is fairly certain that, at some point, he went to Kusumapura for advanced studies and that he lived there for
some time.
[4]
Both Hindu and Buddhist tradition, as well as Bhskara I (CE 629), identify Kusumapura
as Paliputra, modern Patna.
[1]
A verse mentions that Aryabhata was the head of an institution (kulapa) at
Kusumapura, and, because the university of Nalanda was in Pataliputra at the time and had an astronomical
observatory, it is speculated that Aryabhata might have been the head of the Nalanda university as
well.
[1]
Aryabhata is also reputed to have set up an observatory at the Sun temple in Taregana, Bihar.
[5]

[edit]Other hypotheses
It was suggested that Aryabhata may have been from Tamilnadu, but K. V. Sarma, an authority on Kerala's
astronomical tradition, disagreed
[1]
and pointed out several errors in this hypothesis.
[6]

Aryabhata mentions "Lanka" on several occasions in the Aryabhatiya, but his "Lanka" is an abstraction,
standing for a point on the equator at the same longitude as his Ujjayini.
[7]

[edit]Works
Aryabhata is the author of several treatises on mathematics and astronomy, some of which are lost. His major
work, Aryabhatiya, a compendium of mathematics and astronomy, was extensively referred to in the Indian
mathematical literature and has survived to modern times. The mathematical part of
the Aryabhatiya covers arithmetic, algebra, plane trigonometry, and spherical trigonometry. It also contains
continued fractions, quadratic equations, sums-of-power series, and a table of sines.
The Arya-siddhanta, a lost work on astronomical computations, is known through the writings of Aryabhata's
contemporary, Varahamihira, and later mathematicians and commentators,
includingBrahmagupta and Bhaskara I. This work appears to be based on the older Surya Siddhanta and uses
the midnight-day reckoning, as opposed to sunrise in Aryabhatiya. It also contained a description of several
astronomical instruments: the gnomon (shanku-yantra), a shadow instrument (chhAyA-yantra), possibly angle-
measuring devices, semicircular and circular (dhanur-yantra / chakra-yantra), a cylindrical stick yasti-yantra, an
umbrella-shaped device called the chhatra-yantra, and water clocks of at least two types, bow-shaped and
cylindrical.
[3]

A third text, which may have survived in the Arabic translation, is Al ntf or Al-nanf. It claims that it is a
translation by Aryabhata, but the Sanskrit name of this work is not known. Probably dating from the 9th century,
it is mentioned by the Persian scholar and chronicler of India, Ab Rayhn al-Brn.
[3]

[edit]Aryabhatiya
Direct details of Aryabhata's work are known only from the Aryabhatiya. The name "Aryabhatiya" is due to later
commentators. Aryabhata himself may not have given it a name. His disciple Bhaskara Icalls
it Ashmakatantra (or the treatise from the Ashmaka). It is also occasionally referred to as Arya-shatas-
aShTa (literally, Aryabhata's 108), because there are 108 verses in the text. It is written in the very terse style
typical of sutra literature, in which each line is an aid to memory for a complex system. Thus, the explication of
meaning is due to commentators. The text consists of the 108 verses and 13 introductory verses, and is divided
into four pdas or chapters:
1. Gitikapada: (13 verses): large units of timekalpa, manvantra, and yugawhich present a cosmology
different from earlier texts such as Lagadha's Vedanga Jyotisha (c. 1st century BCE). There is also a
table of sines (jya), given in a single verse. The duration of the planetary revolutions during
a mahayuga is given as 4.32 million years.
2. Ganitapada (33 verses): covering mensuration (ketra vyvahra), arithmetic and geometric
progressions, gnomon / shadows (shanku-chhAyA), simple, quadratic, simultaneous,
andindeterminate equations (kuTTaka)
3. Kalakriyapada (25 verses): different units of time and a method for determining the positions of planets
for a given day, calculations concerning the intercalary month (adhikamAsa), kShaya-tithis, and a
seven-day week with names for the days of week.
4. Golapada (50 verses): Geometric/trigonometric aspects of the celestial sphere, features of
the ecliptic, celestial equator, node, shape of the earth, cause of day and night, rising of zodiacal
signson horizon, etc. In addition, some versions cite a few colophons added at the end, extolling the
virtues of the work, etc.
The Aryabhatiya presented a number of innovations in mathematics and astronomy in verse form, which were
influential for many centuries. The extreme brevity of the text was elaborated in commentaries by his disciple
Bhaskara I (Bhashya, c. 600 CE) and by Nilakantha Somayaji in his Aryabhatiya Bhasya, (1465 CE).
[edit]Mathematics
[edit]Place value system and zero
The place-value system, first seen in the 3rd century Bakhshali Manuscript, was clearly in place in his work.
While he did not use a symbol for zero, the French mathematician Georges Ifrah explains that knowledge of
zero was implicit in Aryabhata's place-value system as a place holder for the powers of ten
with null coefficients
[8]

However, Aryabhata did not use the Brahmi numerals. Continuing the Sanskritic tradition from Vedic times, he
used letters of the alphabet to denote numbers, expressing quantities, such as the table of sines in
a mnemonic form.
[9]

[edit]Approximation of
Aryabhata worked on the approximation for Pi (), and may have come to the conclusion that is irrational. In
the second part of the Aryabhatiyam (gaitapda 10), he writes:
caturadhikam atamaaguam dvaistath sahasrm
ayutadvayavikambhasysanno vttapariha.
"Add four to 100, multiply by eight, and then add 62,000. By this rule the circumference of a circle with a
diameter of 20,000 can be approached."
[10]

This implies that the ratio of the circumference to the diameter is ((4 + 100) 8 + 62000)/20000 = 62832/20000
= 3.1416, which is accurate to five significant figures.
It is speculated that Aryabhata used the word sanna (approaching), to mean that not only is this an
approximation but that the value is incommensurable (or irrational). If this is correct, it is quite a sophisticated
insight, because the irrationality of pi was proved in Europe only in 1761 by Lambert.
[11]

After Aryabhatiya was translated into Arabic (c. 820 CE) this approximation was mentioned in Al-Khwarizmi's
book on algebra.
[3]

[edit]Trigonometry
In Ganitapada 6, Aryabhata gives the area of a triangle as
tribhujasya phalashariram samadalakoti bhujardhasamvargah
that translates to: "for a triangle, the result of a perpendicular with the half-side is the area."
[12]

Aryabhata discussed the concept of sine in his work by the name of ardha-jya. Literally, it means "half-
chord". For simplicity, people started calling it jya. When Arabic writers translated his works
fromSanskrit into Arabic, they referred it as jiba. However, in Arabic writings, vowels are omitted, and it
was abbreviated as jb. Later writers substituted it with jaib, meaning "pocket" or "fold (in a garment)". (In
Arabic, jiba is a meaningless word.) Later in the 12th century, when Gherardo of Cremona translated these
writings from Arabic into Latin, he replaced the Arabic jaib with its Latin counterpart,sinus, which means
"cove" or "bay". And after that, the sinus became sine in English.
[13]

[edit]Indeterminate equations
A problem of great interest to Indian mathematicians since ancient times has been to find integer solutions
to equations that have the form ax + by = c, a topic that has come to be known asdiophantine equations.
This is an example from Bhskara's commentary on Aryabhatiya:
Find the number which gives 5 as the remainder when divided by 8, 4 as the remainder when divided
by 9, and 1 as the remainder when divided by 7
That is, find N = 8x+5 = 9y+4 = 7z+1. It turns out that the smallest value for N is 85. In general,
diophantine equations, such as this, can be notoriously difficult. They were discussed extensively in
ancient Vedic text Sulba Sutras, whose more ancient parts might date to 800 BCE. Aryabhata's
method of solving such problems is called the kuaka () method. Kuttaka means
"pulverizing" or "breaking into small pieces", and the method involves a recursive algorithm for writing
the original factors in smaller numbers. Today this algorithm, elaborated by Bhaskara in 621 CE, is the
standard method for solving first-order diophantine equations and is often referred to as the Aryabhata
algorithm.
[14]
The diophantine equations are of interest in cryptology, and the RSA Conference, 2006,
focused on the kuttaka method and earlier work in the Sulbasutras.
[edit]Algebra
In Aryabhatiya Aryabhata provided elegant results for the summation of series of squares and
cubes:
[15]


and

[edit]Astronomy
Aryabhata's system of astronomy was called the audAyaka system, in which days are
reckoned from uday, dawn at lanka or "equator". Some of his later writings on astronomy,
which apparently proposed a second model (or ardha-rAtrikA, midnight) are lost but can be
partly reconstructed from the discussion in Brahmagupta's khanDakhAdyaka. In some texts,
he seems to ascribe the apparent motions of the heavens to the Earth's rotation. He also
treated the planet's orbits as elliptical rather than circular.
[16][17]

[edit]Motions of the solar system
Aryabhata correctly insisted that the earth rotates about its axis daily, and that the apparent
movement of the stars is a relative motion caused by the rotation of the earth, contrary to the
then-prevailing view that the sky rotated. This is indicated in the first chapter of
the Aryabhatiya, where he gives the number of rotations of the earth in a yuga,
[18]
and made
more explicit in his gola chapter:
[19]

In the same way that someone in a boat going forward sees an unmoving [object]
going backward, so [someone] on the equator sees the unmoving stars going
uniformly westward. The cause of rising and setting [is that] the sphere of the stars
together with the planets [apparently?] turns due west at the equator, constantly
pushed by the cosmic wind.
Aryabhata described a geocentric model of the solar system, in which the Sun and Moon are
each carried by epicycles. They in turn revolve around the Earth. In this model, which is also
found in thePaitmahasiddhnta (c. CE 425), the motions of the planets are each governed
by two epicycles, a smaller manda (slow) and a larger ghra (fast).
[20]
The order of the
planets in terms of distance from earth is taken as: the Moon, Mercury, Venus,
the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the asterisms."
[3]

The positions and periods of the planets was calculated relative to uniformly moving points.
In the case of Mercury and Venus, they move around the Earth at the same mean speed as
the Sun. In the case of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, they move around the Earth at specific
speeds, representing each planet's motion through the zodiac. Most historians of astronomy
consider that this two-epicycle model reflects elements of pre-Ptolemaic Greek
astronomy.
[21]
Another element in Aryabhata's model, the ghrocca, the basic planetary
period in relation to the Sun, is seen by some historians as a sign of an
underlying heliocentric model.
[22]

[edit]Eclipses
Solar and lunar eclipses were scientifically explained by Aryabhata. Aryabhata states that
the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight. Instead of the prevailing cosmogony in
which eclipses were caused by pseudo-planetary nodes Rahu and Ketu, he explains
eclipses in terms of shadows cast by and falling on Earth. Thus, the lunar eclipse occurs
when the moon enters into the Earth's shadow (verse gola.37). He discusses at length the
size and extent of the Earth's shadow (verses gola.3848) and then provides the
computation and the size of the eclipsed part during an eclipse. Later Indian astronomers
improved on the calculations, but Aryabhata's methods provided the core. His computational
paradigm was so accurate that 18th century scientist Guillaume Le Gentil, during a visit to
Pondicherry, India, found the Indian computations of the duration of the lunar eclipse of 30
August 1765 to be short by 41 seconds, whereas his charts (by Tobias Mayer, 1752) were
long by 68 seconds.
[3]

[edit]Sidereal periods
Considered in modern English units of time, Aryabhata calculated the sidereal rotation (the
rotation of the earth referencing the fixed stars) as 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.1
seconds;
[23]
the modern value is 23:56:4.091. Similarly, his value for the length of the sidereal
year at 365 days, 6 hours, 12 minutes, and 30 seconds (365.25858 days)
[24]
is an error of 3
minutes and 20 seconds over the length of a year (365.25636 days).
[25]

[edit]Heliocentrism
As mentioned, Aryabhata advocated an astronomical model in which the Earth turns on its
own axis. His model also gave corrections (the gra anomaly) for the speeds of the planets
in the sky in terms of the mean speed of the sun. Thus, it has been suggested that
Aryabhata's calculations were based on an underlying heliocentric model, in which the
planets orbit the Sun,
[26][27][28]
though this has been rebutted.
[29]
It has also been suggested
that aspects of Aryabhata's system may have been derived from an earlier, likely pre-
Ptolemaic Greek, heliocentric model of which Indian astronomers were unaware,
[30]
though
the evidence is scant.
[31]
The general consensus is that a synodic anomaly (depending on
the position of the sun) does not imply a physically heliocentric orbit (such corrections being
also present in late Babylonian astronomical texts), and that Aryabhata's system was not
explicitly heliocentric.
[32]

[edit]Legacy
Aryabhata's work was of great influence in the Indian astronomical tradition and influenced
several neighbouring cultures through translations. The Arabic translation during the Islamic
Golden Age (c. 820 CE), was particularly influential. Some of his results are cited by Al-
Khwarizmi and in the 10th century Al-Biruni stated that Aryabhata's followers believed that
the Earth rotated on its axis.
His definitions of sine (jya), cosine (kojya), versine (utkrama-jya), and inverse sine (otkram
jya) influenced the birth of trigonometry. He was also the first to specify sine
and versine (1 cos x) tables, in 3.75 intervals from 0 to 90, to an accuracy of 4 decimal
places.
In fact, modern names "sine" and "cosine" are mistranscriptions of the
words jya and kojya as introduced by Aryabhata. As mentioned, they were translated
as jiba and kojiba in Arabic and then misunderstood by Gerard of Cremona while translating
an Arabic geometry text to Latin. He assumed that jiba was the Arabic word jaib, which
means "fold in a garment", L. sinus (c. 1150).
[33]

Aryabhata's astronomical calculation methods were also very influential. Along with the
trigonometric tables, they came to be widely used in the Islamic world and used to compute
many Arabicastronomical tables (zijes). In particular, the astronomical tables in the work of
the Arabic Spain scientist Al-Zarqali (11th century) were translated into Latin as the Tables of
Toledo (12th c.) and remained the most accurate ephemeris used in Europe for centuries.
Calendric calculations devised by Aryabhata and his followers have been in continuous use
in India for the practical purposes of fixing the Panchangam (the Hindu calendar). In the
Islamic world, they formed the basis of the Jalali calendar introduced in 1073 CE by a group
of astronomers including Omar Khayyam,
[34]
versions of which (modified in 1925) are the
national calendars in use in Iran andAfghanistan today. The dates of the Jalali calendar are
based on actual solar transit, as in Aryabhata and earlier Siddhanta calendars. This type of
calendar requires an ephemeris for calculating dates. Although dates were difficult to
compute, seasonal errors were less in the Jalali calendar than in the Gregorian calendar.
India's first satellite Aryabhata and the lunar crater Aryabhata are named in his honour. An
Institute for conducting research in astronomy, astrophysics and atmospheric sciences is
the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) near Nainital, India.
The inter-school Aryabhata Maths Competition is also named after him,
[35]
as is Bacillus
aryabhata, a species of bacteria discovered by ISRO scientists in 2009.
[36]








Homi J. Bhabha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Homi Bhabha)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by
adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2011)
Homi Bhaba

Homi Bhaba (1909-1966)
Born
30 October 1909
Bombay, British India, Present-day India
Died
24 January 1966 (aged 56)
Mont Blanc, France
Residence
New Delhi, India
Citizenship
India
Nationality
Indian
Fields
Nuclear Physics
Institutions
Atomic Energy Commission of India
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Cavendish Laboratory
Indian Institute of Science
Indian National Committee for Space Research
Alma mater
Elphinstone College
Royal Institute of Science
University of Cambridge
Doctoral advisor
Ralph H. Fowler
Other
academic advisors
Paul Dirac
Known for
Indian nuclear program(also known as Father of India
nuclear program)
Cosmic Rays
point particles
Notable awards
Padma Bhushan (1954)
Notes
Bhabha was a close and personal friend of Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal
Nehru
[citation needed]

Not to be confused with Homi K. Bhabha
Homi Jehangir Bhabha, FRS (30 October 1909 24 January 1966) was an Indian nuclear physicist and
the chief architect of the Indian atomic energy program. He was also responsible for the establishment of
two well-known research institutions, namely the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), and the
Atomic Energy Establishment at Trombay (which after Bhabha's death was renamed as the Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre (BARC)). As a scientist, he is remembered for deriving a correct expression for
the probability of scattering positrons by electrons, a process now known as Bhabha scattering. For his
significant contributions to the development of atomic energy in India, he is known as the father of India's
nuclear program. World War II broke out in September 1939 while Bhabha was vacationing in India. He
chose to remain in India until the war ended. In the meantime, he accepted a position at the Indian Institute
of Science in Bangalore, headed by Nobel laureate C. V. Raman. He established the Cosmic Ray
Research Unit at the institute, and began to work on the theory of the movement of point particles. In 1945,
he established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay, and the Atomic Energy
Commission of India three years later. In the 1950s, Bhabha represented India in International Atomic
Energy Forums, and served as President of the United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of
Atomic Energy inGeneva, Switzerland in 1955. He was awarded Padma Bhushan by Government of India
in 1954. He later served as the member of the Indian Cabinet's Scientific Advisory Committee and set up
the Indian National Committee for Space Research with Vikram Sarabhai. In January 1966, Bhabha died
in a plane crash near Mont Blanc, while heading to Vienna, Austria to attend a meeting of the International
Atomic Energy Agency's Scientific Advisory Committee.
Contents
[hide]
1 Early life
2 Higher education and research at Cambridge
3 Research in theoretical physics
4 Return to India
5 Atomic Energy in India
6 Death and legacy
7 References
8 External References
[edit]Early life
Bhabha was born into a wealthy and prominent Parsi family, through which he was related to Dinshaw
Maneckji Petit, Muhammad Ali Jinnah andDorab Tata. He received his early education at
Bombay's Cathedral Grammar School and entered Elphinstone College at age 15 after passing hisSenior
Cambridge Examination with Honors.His parents had sent him for higher studies to Cambridge so that he
would pursue a career in Tata Industries. Dr.Bhabha however managed to convince his parents that his
interests were limited to physics only. He then attended the Royal Institute of Science until 1927 before
joining Caius College of Cambridge University. This was due to the insistence of his father and his
uncle Dorab Tata, who planned for Bhabha to obtain an engineering degree from Cambridge and then
return to India, where he would join the Tata Iron and Steel Company in Jamshedpur.
[edit]Higher education and research at Cambridge
At Cambridge Bhabha's interests gradually shifted to theoretical physics. In 1928 Bhabha in a letter to his
father. Bhabha's father understood his son's predicament, and he agreed to finance his studies in
mathematics provided that he obtain first class on his Mechanical Sciences Triposexam. Bhabha took the
Tripos exam in June 1930 and passed with first class. Afterwards, he embarked on his mathematical
studies under Paul Dirac to complete the Mathematics Tripos. After finishing Mathematical Tripos Dr.
Bhabha worked for short periods with Wolfgang Pauli at Zurich and with Enrico Fermi at Rome. In 1934 he
was awarded the Isaac Newton Studentship which enabled him complete his Ph. D under Dr. R. H.
Fowler, who was also the Ph. D thesis advisor for Dr. Chandrasekhar. Meanwhile, he worked at
the Cavendish Laboratory while working towards his doctorate in theoretical physics. At the time, the
laboratory was the center of a number of scientific breakthroughs. James Chadwick had discovered
the neutron, John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton transmuted lithium with high-energy protons, and Patrick
Blackett and Giuseppe Occhialini usedcloud chambers to demonstrate the production of electron
pairs and showers by gamma radiation. During the 19311932 academic year, Bhabha was awarded the
Salomons Studentship in Engineering. In 1932, he obtained first class on his Mathematical Tripos and was
awarded the Rouse Ball traveling studentship in mathematics.
[edit]Research in theoretical physics
In January 1933, Bhabha published his first scientific paper, "The Absorption of Cosmic radition. In the
publication, Bhabha offered an explanation of the absorption features and electron shower production in
cosmic rays.The paper helped him win the Isaac Newton Studentship in 1934, which he held for the next
three years. The following year, he completed his doctoral studies in theoretical physics under Ralph H.
Fowler. During his studentship, he split his time working at Cambridge and with Niels Bohr in Copenhagen.
In 1935, Bhabha published a paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series A, in which performed
the first calculation to determine the cross section of electron-positron scattering. Electron-positron
scattering was later named Bhabha scattering, in honor of his contributions in the field
[citation needed]
.
In 1936, the two published a paper, "The Passage of Fast Electrons and the Theory of Cosmic Showers" in
the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series A, in which they used their theory to describe how primary
cosmic rays from outer space interact with the upper atmosphere to produce particles observed at the
ground level. Bhabha and Heitler then made numerical estimates of the number of electrons in the
cascade process at different altitudes for different electron initiation energies. The calculations agreed with
the experimental observations of cosmic ray showers made by Bruno Rossiand Pierre Victor Auger a few
years before. Bhabha later concluded that observations of the properties of such particles would lead to
the straightforward experimental verification of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.
In 1937, Dr. Bhabha published paper on the penetrating component of the cosmic radiation in the Proc. of
the Royal Society stating that the experimental cosmic ray data would find a natural explanation if the
secondary cosmic radiation in the atmosphere consisted of charged particles of mass intermediate
between electron and proton, setting the mass around 100 electron masses. Dr. Bhabhas prediction was
soon corroborated by the discovery of Seth Neddermeyer and Carl David Anderson, and Street and
Stevenson who found particles of mass ~ 200 electron masses in their cloud chamber experiments. These
particles were then given the name 'Meson. In the same year Bhabha was awarded the Senior
Studentship of the 1851 Exhibition, which helped him continue his work at Cambridge until the outbreak
of World War II in 1939
[citation needed]
.
[edit]Return to India
File:Bhabha And Nehru.jpg
Bhabha with Jawaharlal Nehru
In September 1939, Bhabha was in India for a brief holiday when World War II broke out, and he decided
not to return to England for the time being. He accepted an offer to serve as the Reader in the Physics
Department of the Indian Institute of Science, then headed by renowned physicist C. V. Raman. He
received a special research grant from the Sir Dorab Tata Trust, which he used to establish the Cosmic
Ray Research Unit at the institute. Bhabha selected a few students, includingHarish-Chandra, to work with
him. Later, on 20 March 1941, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society . With the help of J. R. D.
Tata, he played an instrumental role in the establishment of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in
Bombay.
[edit]Atomic Energy in India
File:Bhabha .jpg
Bhabha explaining Cosmic Rays
Dr. Bhabhas principal philosophy was that the large scale development of science in India was the main
ingredient needed to achieve technological advancement. He was convinced that the task of fast
developing a country was the problem of establishing modern science in it, and building its economy on
modern science and technology.
In his address to the Assembly of Council of Scientific Unions on Jan. 4, 1966, Dr. Bhabha commented on
Science and Development in India during the past 20 years:

It is interesting to note that practically all the ancient civilizations of the world -Persia, Egypt,
India, and China- were in countries which are today underdeveloped. What the developed
countries have and the underdeveloped lack is modern science and an economy based on modern
technology. The problem of developing the underdeveloped counties is therefore the problem of

establishing modern science in them and transforming their economy to one based on modern
science and technology.
When Bhabha was working at the Indian Institute of Science, there was no institute in India which had the
necessary facilities for original work in nuclear physics, cosmic rays, high energy physics, and other
frontiers of knowledge in physics. This prompted him to send a proposal in March 1944 to the Sir Dorab J.
Tata Trust for establishing 'a vigorous school of research in fundamental physics'. In his proposal he
wrote :

There is at the moment in India no big school of research in the fundamental problems of physics,
both theoretical and experimental. There are, however, scattered all over India competent workers
who are not doing as good work as they would do if brought together in one place under proper
direction. It is absolutely in the interest of India to have a vigorous school of research in
fundamental physics, for such a school forms the spearhead of research not only in less advanced
branches of physics but also in problems of immediate practical application in industry. If much
of the applied research done in India today is disappointing or of very inferior quality it is entirely
due to the absence of sufficient number of outstanding pure research workers who would set the
standard of good research and act on the directing boards in an advisory capacity ... Moreover,
when nuclear energy has been successfully applied for power production in say a couple of
decades from now, India will not have to look abroad for its experts but will find them ready at
hand. I do not think that anyone acquainted with scientific development in other countries would
deny the need in India for such a school as I propose.
The subjects on which research and advanced teaching would be done would be theoretical
physics, especially on fundamental problems and with special reference to cosmic rays and
nuclear physics, and experimental research on cosmic rays. It is neither possible nor desirable to
separate nuclear physics from cosmic rays since the two are closely connected theoretically.
[1]


The trustees of Sir Dorab J. Tata Trust decided to accept Bhabha's proposal and financial responsibility for
starting the Institute in April 1944. Bombay was chosen as the location for the prosed Institute as the
Government of Bombay showed interest in becoming a joint founder of the proposed institute. The
institute, named Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, was inaugurated in 1945 in 540 square meters of
hired space in an existing building. In 1948 the Institute was moved into the old buildings of the Royal
Yacht club. When Bhabha realized that technology development for the atomic energy programme could
no longer be carried out within TIFR he proposed to the government to build a new laboratory entirely
devoted to this purpose. For this purpose, 1200 acres of land was acquired at Trombay from the Bombay
Government. Thus the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay (AEET) started functioning in 1954. The
same year the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was also established.
[2]
He represented India in
International Atomic Energy Forums, and as President of the United Nations Conference on the Peaceful
Uses of Atomic Energy, in Geneva, Switzerland in 1955. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1958.
[3]

[edit]Death and legacy
He died when Air India Flight 101 crashed near Mont Blanc on January 24, 1966. Many possible theories
have been advanced for the aircrash, including a conspiracy theory in which CIA is involved in order to
paralyze Indian nuclear weapon programme
[citation needed]
. The atomic energy centre in Trombay was
renamed as Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honour. In addition to being an able scientist and
administrator, Bhabha was also a painter and a classical music and opera enthusiast, besides being an
amateur botanist
[citation needed]
.He is one of the most prominent scientists that India has ever had.
After his death, the Atomic Energy Establishment at Trombay was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre in his honour. Bhabha also encouraged research in electronics, space science,radio
astronomy and microbiology
[citation needed]
. The famed radio telescope at Ooty, India was his initiative, and it
became a reality in 1970. The Homi Bhabha Fellowship Council has been giving the Homi Bhabha
Fellowships since 1967 Other noted institutions in his name are the Homi Bhabha National Institute, an
Indian deemed university and the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education,Mumbai, India.
Central to setting up these organizations lay three main themes in the Homi Bhabhas philosophy for
spurring growth of science and technology in India:
(1) growing a large group of trained scientists in the field of nuclear physics so that when atomic energy
became a reality, India had the trained scientists at hand to avail of this energy source for power
production.
(2) spreading sophisticated technology in the fields of electronics, high vacuum techniques and nuclear
physics to colleges, institutes and industry.
(3) implanting and sharing highly trained scientists in universities as teachers.










C. V. Raman
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(Redirected from Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman)
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Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, FRS

Born
7 November 1888
Thiruvanaikoil, Tiruchirappalli, Madras
Presidency, India
Died
21 November 1970 (aged 82)
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Nationality
Indian
Fields
Physics
Institutions
Indian Finance Department
University of Calcutta
Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science
Indian Institute of Science
Alma mater
University of Madras
Doctoral
students
G. N. Ramachandran
Known for
Raman effect
Notable awards
Knight Bachelor (1929)
Nobel Prize in Physics (1930)
Bharat Ratna (1954)
Lenin Peace Prize (1957)
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, FRS (Tamil: ) (7
November 1888 21 November 1970) was an Indian physicist whose work was influential in the
growth of science in the world. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for
the discovery that when light traverses a transparent material, some of the light that is deflected
changes in wavelength. This phenomenon is now called Raman scattering and is the result of the
Raman effect.
Contents
[hide]
y 1 Early years
y 2 Career
y 3 Personal life
y 4 Honours and awards
y 5 Publications
y 6 See also
y 7 Notes
y 8 References
y 9 Further reading
y 10 External links
[edit] Early years
Venkata Raman, a Tamil Brahmin, was born at Thiruvanaikaval, near Tiruchirappalli, Madras
Presidency to R. Chandrasekhara Iyer (b. 1866) and Parvati Ammal (Saptarshi Parvati).
[1]
He
was the second of their eight children. At an early age, Raman moved to the city of Vizag,
Andhra Pradesh. Studied in St.Aloysius Anglo-Indian High School. His father was a lecturer in
Mathematics and physics. Raman's father, who initially taught in a local school for many years
and later became a lecturer in mathematics and physics in Mrs. A.V. Narasimha Rao College,
Vishakapatnam (then Vizagapatnam) in Andhra Pradesh. Raman passed his matriculation
examination at the age of 11 and he passed his F.A. examination (equivalent to today's
Intermediate) with a scholarship at 13. In 1903 Raman joined the Presidency College, Chennai
(then Madras). In 1904, he gained his B.Sc., winning the first place and the gold medal in
physics. In 1907, he gained his M.Sc., obtaining the highest distinctions. Raman said:

I finished my school and college career and my university examination at the age of
eighteen. In this short span of years had been compressed the study of four languages and
of a great variety of diverse subjects, in several cases up to the highest university standards.
A list of all the volumes I had to study would be terrifying length. Did these books influence
me? Yes, in the narrow sense of making me tolerably familiar with subjects of so diverse as
Ancient Greek and Roman History, Modern Indian and European History, Formal Logic,
Economics, Monetary Theory and Public Finance, the late Sanskrit writers and minor English
authors, to say nothing of physiography, chemistry and dozen branches of Pure and Applied
Mathematics, and of Experimental and Theoretical Physics.


Though Raman proved his brilliance in scientific investigations but as were the norms of those
days he was not encouraged to take up science as a career. At the instance of his father Raman
took the Financial Civil Service (FCS) examination. He stood first in the examination and in the
middle of 1907 Raman proceeded to Kolkata (then Calcutta) to join the Indian Finance
Department as Assistant Accountant General. He was then 18 years old. His starting salary was
Rs. 400 per month, a fabulous sum in those days. At that point of time perhaps nobody would
have even dreamt that Raman would again venture into the pursuits of science. Raman's
prospects in the Government service were too lucrative. And during those days opportunities for
doing research were rare. But then one day while going to office Raman saw a signboard with
the words "Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science" written on it. The address was 210,
Bowbazar Street. On his way back he came to the Association where he first met an individual
named Ashutosh Dey who was to be Raman's assistant for 25 years. Dey took Raman to the
Honorary Secretary of the Association, Amrit Lal Sircar, who was overjoyed when he came to
know about Raman's intention -- to do research at the Association's laboratory. Amrit Lal had
reason to be overjoyed because it was his father Mahendra Lal Sircar (1833-1904), a man of
vision, who established the Association in 1876. This Association happened to be the first
institute to be established in India solely for carrying out scientific investigations. So when Amrit
Lal Sircar saw Raman, perhaps he felt that he (Raman) would realise his father's dream.
[edit] Career
In 1917, Raman resigned from his government service and took up the newly created Palit
Professorship in Physics at the University of Calcutta. At the same time, he continued doing
research at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Calcutta, where he became the
Honorary Secretary. Raman used to refer to this period as the golden era of his career. Many
students gathered around him at the IACS and the University of Calcutta.
Till 1917 Raman continued his research at the Association in his spare time. Doing research in
his spare time and that too with very limited facilities Raman could publish his research findings
in leading international journals like Nature, The Philosophical Magazine and Physics Review.
During this period he published 30 original research papers. His research carried during this
period mainly centred on areas of vibrations and acoustics. He studied a number of musical
instruments viz., ectara, violin, tambura, veena, mridangam, tabla etc. He published a monograph
on his extensive studies on the violin. The monograph was titled 'On the Mechanical Theory of
Vibrations of Musical Instruments of the Violin Family with Experimental Verifications of the
Results Part- I'.


Energy level diagram showing the states involved in Raman signal.
On February 28, 1928, through his experiments on the scattering of light, he discovered the
Raman effect. It was instantly clear that this discovery was an important one. It gave further
proof of the quantum nature of light. Raman spectroscopy came to be based on this phenomenon,
and Ernest Rutherford referred to it in his presidential address to the Royal Society in 1929.
Raman was president of the 16th session of the Indian Science Congress in 1929. He was
conferred a knighthood, and medals and honorary doctorates by various universities. Raman was
confident of winning the Nobel Prize in Physics as well, and was disappointed when the Nobel
Prize went to Richardson in 1928 and to de Broglie in 1929. He was so confident of winning the
prize in 1930 that he booked tickets in July, even though the awards were to be announced in
November, and would scan each day's newspaper for announcement of the prize, tossing it away
if it did not carry the news. He did eventually win the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his work
on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after him". He was the first
Asian and first non-White to receive any Nobel Prize in the sciences. Before him Rabindranath
Tagore (also Indian) had received the Nobel Prize for Literature.
C.V Raman & Bhagavantam, discovered the quantum photon spin in 1932, which further
confirmed the quantum nature of light. [1]
Raman also worked on the acoustics of musical instruments. He worked out the theory of
transverse vibration of bowed strings, on the basis of superposition velocities. He was also the
first to investigate the harmonic nature of the sound of the Indian drums such as the tabla and the
mridangam.
Raman and his student of mim high school, provided the correct theoretical explanation for the
acousto-optic effect (light scattering by sound waves), in a series of articles resulting in the
celebrated Raman-Nath theory. Modulators, and switching systems based on this effect have
enabled optical communication components based on laser systems.

In 1934, Raman became the assistant director of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore,
where two years later he continued as a professor of physics. Other investigations carried out by
Raman were experimental and theoretical studies on the diffraction of light by acoustic waves of
ultrasonic and hypersonic frequencies (published 1934-1942), and those on the effects produced
by X-rays on infrared vibrations in crystals exposed to ordinary light.
He also started a company called cv Chemical and Manufacturing Co. Ltd. in 1943 along with
Dr. Krishnamurthy. The Company during its 60 year history, established four factories in
Southern India. In 1947, he was appointed as the first National Professor by the new government
of Independent India.
In 1948, Raman, through studying the spectroscopic behavior of crystals, approached in a new
manner fundamental problems of crystal dynamics. He dealt with the structure and properties of
diamond, the structure and optical behavior of numerous iridescent substances (labradorite,
pearly feldspar, agate, opal, and pearls). Among his other interests were the optics of colloids,
electrical and magnetic anisotropy, and the physiology of human vision.
[edit] Personal life
Raman retired from the Indian Institute of Science in 1948 and established the Raman Research
Institute in Bangalore, Karnataka a year later. He served as its director and remained active there
until his death in 1970, in Bangalore, at the age of 82.
He was married on 6 May 1907 to Lokasundari Ammal with whom he had two sons,
Chandrasekhar and Radhakrishnan.
C.V. Raman was the paternal uncle of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who later won the Nobel
Prize in Physics (1983) for his discovery of the Chandrasekhar limit in 1931 and for his
subsequent work on the nuclear reactions necessary for stellar evolution.
Raman was a staunch patriot and he had great faith in India's potential for progress. He excelled
under the most adverse circumstances. When he received the Nobel, he quoted:

When the Nobel award was announced I saw it as a personal triumph, an achievement for me and
my collaborators -- a recognition for a very remarkable discovery, for reaching the goal I had
pursued for 7 years. But when I sat in that crowded hall and I saw the sea of western faces
surrounding me, and I, the only Indian, in my turban and closed coat, it dawned on me that I was
really representing my people and my country. I felt truly humble when I received the Prize from
King Gustav; it was a moment of great emotion but I could restrain myself. Then I turned round
and saw the British Union Jack under which I had been sitting and it was then that I realised that
my poor country, India, did not even have a flag of her own - and it was this that triggered off my
complete breakdown.























Jagadish Chandra Bose
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(Redirected from Jagdish Chandra Bose)
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Acharyo-Jogodiish-Chondro-Bosh
Acharya Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, CSI, CIE, FRS

Jagadish Chandra Bose in Royal Institution, London
Born
30 November 1858
Bikrampur, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died
23 November 1937 (aged 78)
Giridih, Bengal, British India
Residence
Kolkata, Bengal, British India
Nationality
British Indian
Fields
Physics, Biophysics, Biology, Botany, Archaeology,
Bengali Literature, Bangla Science Fiction
Institutions
University of Calcutta
University of Cambridge
University of London
Alma mater
St. Xavier's College, Calcutta
University of Cambridge
Doctoral
advisor
John Strutt (Lord Rayleigh)
Notable
students
Satyendra Nath Bose
Known for
Millimetre waves
Radio
Crescograph Plant science
Notable awards
Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE)
(1903)
Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI)
(1911)
Knight Bachelor (1917)
Acharya Sir
[1]
Jagadish Chandra Bose, CSI,
[2]
CIE,
[3]
FRS (Bengali: '" Jgodish
Chndro Boshu) (30 November 1858 23 November 1937) was a Bengali polymath: a physicist,
biologist, botanist, archaeologist, as well as an early writer of science fiction.
[4]
He pioneered the
investigation of radio and microwave optics, made very significant contributions to plant science,
and laid the foundations of experimental science in the Indian subcontinent.
[5]
IEEE named him
one of the fathers of radio science.
[6]
He is also considered the father of Bengali science fiction.
He was the first person from the Indian subcontinent to receive a US patent, in 1904.
Born during the British Raj, Bose graduated from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta. He then went to
the University of London to study medicine, but could not pursue studies in medicine due to
health problems. Instead, he conducted his research with the Nobel Laureate Lord Rayleigh at
Cambridge and returned to India. He then joined the Presidency College of University of
Calcutta as a Professor of Physics. There, despite racial discrimination and a lack of funding and
equipment, Bose carried on his scientific research. He made remarkable progress in his research
of remote wireless signaling and was the first to use semiconductor junctions to detect radio
signals. However, instead of trying to gain commercial benefit from this invention Bose made his
inventions public in order to allow others to further develop his research.
Bose subsequently made a number of pioneering discoveries in plant physiology. He used his
own invention, the crescograph, to measure plant response to various stimuli, and thereby
scientifically proved parallelism between animal and plant tissues. Although Bose filed for a
patent for one of his inventions due to peer pressure, his reluctance to any form of patenting was
well known.
He has been recognised for his many contributions to modern science.
Contents
[hide]
y 1 Early life and education
y 2 Joining Presidency College
y 3 Radio research
y 4 Plant research
y 5 Electrical response in metals
y 6 Science fiction
y 7 Bose and patents
y 8 Legacy
y 9 Publications
y 10 Honors
y 11 Notes
y 12 References and general information
y 13 Further reading
y 14 External links
[edit] Early life and education
Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose was born in Bikrampur, Bengal, now Munshiganj District of
Bangladesh) on November 30, 1870. His father, Bhagawan Chandra Bose, was a Brahmo and
leader of the Brahmo Samaj and worked as a deputy magistrate/ assistant commissioner in
Faridpur,
[7]
Bardhaman and other places.
[8]
His family hailed from the village Rarikhal,
Bikrampur, in the current day Munshiganj District of Bangladesh.
[9]

Boses education started in a vernacular school, because his father believed that one must know
one's own mother tongue before beginning English, and that one should know also one's own
people.
[citation needed]
Speaking at the Bikrampur Conference in 1915, Bose said:
At that time, sending children to English schools was an aristocratic status symbol. In the
vernacular school, to which I was sent, the son of the Muslim attendant of my father sat on my
right side, and the son of a fisherman sat on my left. They were my playmates. I listened
spellbound to their stories of birds, animals and aquatic creatures. Perhaps these stories created
in my mind a keen interest in investigating the workings of Nature. When I returned home from
school accompanied by my school fellows, my mother welcomed and fed all of us without
discrimination. Although she was an orthodox old fashioned lady, she never considered herself
guilty of impiety by treating these untouchables as her own children. It was because of my
childhood friendship with them that I could never feel that there were creatures who might be
labelled low-caste. I never realised that there existed a problem common to the two
communities, Hindus and Muslims.
[8]

Bose joined the Hare School in 1869 and then St. Xaviers School at Kolkata. In 1875, he
passed the Entrance Examination (equivalent to school graduation) of University of Calcutta
and was admitted to St. Xavier's College, Calcutta. At St. Xavier's, Bose came in contact
with Jesuit Father Eugene Lafont, who played a significant role in developing his interest to
natural science.
[8][9]
He received a bachelor's degree from University of Calcutta in 1879.
[7]

Bose wanted to go to England to compete for the Indian Civil Service. However, his father, a
civil servant himself, canceled the plan. He wished his son to be a scholar, who would rule
nobody but himself.
[citation needed]
Bose went to England to study Medicine at the University
of London. However, he had to quit because of ill health.
[10]
The odour in the dissection
rooms is also said to have exacerbated his illness.
[7]

Through the recommendation of Anand Mohan, his brother-in-law (sister's husband) and the
first Indian wrangler, he secured admission in Christ's College, Cambridge to study Natural
Science. He received the Natural Science Tripos from the University of Cambridge and a
BSc from the University of London in 1884.
[11]
Among Boses teachers at Cambridge were
Lord Rayleigh, Michael Foster, James Dewar, Francis Darwin, Francis Balfour, and Sidney
Vines. At the time when Bose was a student at Cambridge, Prafulla Chandra Roy was a
student at Edinburgh. They met in London and became intimate friends.
[7][8]

On the second day of a two-day seminar held on the occasion of 150th anniversary of
Jagadish Chandra Bose on 2829 July at The Asiatic Society, Kolkata Professor Shibaji
Raha, Director of the Bose Institute, Kolkata told in his valedictory address that he had
personally checked the register of the Cambridge University to confirm the fact that in
addition to Tripos he received an M.A. as well from it in 1884.
[edit] Joining Presidency College


Jagadish Chandra Bose
Bose returned to India in 1885, carrying a letter from Fawcett, the economist to Lord Ripon,
Viceroy of India. On Lord Ripons request Sir Alfred Croft, the Director of Public
Instruction, appointed Bose officiating professor of physics in Presidency College. The
principal, C. H. Tawney, protested against the appointment but had to accept it.
[12]

Bose was not provided with facilities for research. On the contrary, he was a victim of
racialism with regard to his salary.
[12]
In those days, an Indian professor was paid Rs. 200
per month, while his European counterpart received Rs. 300 per month. Since Bose was
officiating, he was offered a salary of only Rs. 100 per month.
[13]
With remarkable sense of
self respect and national pride he decided on a new form of protest.
[12]
Bose refused to accept
the salary cheque. In fact, he continued his teaching assignment for three years without
accepting any salary.
[14]
Finally both the Director of Public Instruction and the Principal of
the Presidency College fully realised the value of Boses skill in teaching and also his lofty
character. As a result his appointment was made permanent with retrospective effect. He was
given the full salary for the previous three years in a lump sum.
[7]

Presidency College lacked a proper laboratory. Bose had to conduct his research in a small
24-square-foot (2.2 m
2
) room.
[7]
He devised equipment for the research with the help of one
untrained tinsmith.
[12]
Sister Nivedita wrote, I was horrified to find the way in which a great
worker could be subjected to continuous annoyance and petty difficulties ... The college
routine was made as arduous as possible for him, so that he could not have the time he
needed for investigation. After his daily grind, which he of course performed with great
conscientiousness, he carried out his research far into the night, in a small room in his
college.
[12]

Moreover, the policy of the British government for its colonies was not conducive to
attempts at original research. Bose spent his hard-earned money for making experimental
equipment. Within a decade of his joining Presidency College, he emerged a pioneer in the
incipient research field of wireless waves.
[12]

[edit] Radio research
See also: Invention of radio
The British theoretical physicist James Clerk Maxwell mathematically predicted the
existence of electromagnetic waves of diverse wavelengths, but he died in 1879 before his
prediction was experimentally verified. British physicist Oliver Lodge demonstrated the
existence of Maxwells waves transmitted along wires in 1887-88. The German physicist
Heinrich Hertz showed experimentally, in 1888, the existence of electromagnetic waves in
free space. Subsequently, Lodge pursued Hertzs work and delivered a commemorative
lecture in June 1894 (after Hertzs death) and published it in book form. Lodges work
caught the attention of scientists in different countries including Bose in India.
[15]

The first remarkable aspect of Boses follow up microwave research was that he reduced the
waves to the millimetre level (about 5 mm wavelength). He realised the disadvantages of
long waves for studying their light-like properties.
[15]

In 1893, Nikola Tesla demonstrated the first public radio communication.
[16]
One year later,
during a November 1894 (or 1895
[15]
) public demonstration at Town Hall of Kolkata, Bose
ignited gunpowder and rang a bell at a distance using millimetre range wavelength
microwaves.
[14]
Lieutenant Governor Sir William Mackenzie witnessed Bose's demonstration
in the Kolkata Town Hall. Bose wrote in a Bengali essay, Adrisya Alok (Invisible Light),
The invisible light can easily pass through brick walls, buildings etc. Therefore, messages
can be transmitted by means of it without the mediation of wires.
[15]
In Russia, Popov
performed similar experiments. In December 1895, Popov's records indicate that he hoped
for distant signalling with radio waves.
[17]

Boses first scientific paper, On polarisation of electric rays by double-refracting crystals
was communicated to the Asiatic Society of Bengal in May 1895, within a year of Lodges
paper. His second paper was communicated to the Royal Society of London by Lord
Rayleigh in October 1895. In December 1895, the London journal the Electrician (Vol 36)
published Boses paper, On a new electro-polariscope. At that time, the word coherer,
coined by Lodge, was used in the English-speaking world for Hertzian wave receivers or
detectors. The Electrician readily commented on Boses coherer. (December 1895). The
Englishman (18 January 1896) quoted from the Electrician and commented as follows:
Should Professor Bose succeed in perfecting and patenting his Coherer, we may in time see
the whole system of coast lighting throughout the navigable world revolutionised by a Bengali
scientist working single handed in our Presidency College Laboratory.
Bose planned to perfect his coherer but never thought of patenting it.
[15]

In May 1897, two years after Bose's public demonstration in Kolkata, Marconi
conducted his wireless signalling experiment on Salisbury Plain.
[17]
Bose went to London
on a lecture tour in 1896 and met Marconi, who was conducting wireless experiments for
the British post office. In an interview, Bose expressed disinterest in commercial
telegraphy and suggested others use his research work. In 1899, Bose announced the
development of a "iron-mercury-iron coherer with telephone detector" in a paper
presented at the Royal Society, London.
[18]

Bose's demonstration of remote wireless signalling has priority over Marconi.
[19]
He was
the first to use a semiconductor junction to detect radio waves, and he invented various
now commonplace microwave components. In 1954, Pearson and Brattain gave priority
to Bose for the use of a semi-conducting crystal as a detector of radio waves. Further
work at millimetre wavelengths was almost nonexistent for nearly 50 years. In 1897,
Bose described to the Royal Institution in London his research carried out in Kolkata at
millimetre wavelengths. He used waveguides, horn antennas, dielectric lenses, various
polarisers and even semiconductors at frequencies as high as 60 GHz; much of his
original equipment is still in existence, now at the Bose Institute in Kolkata. A 1.3 mm
multi-beam receiver now in use on the NRAO 12 Metre Telescope, Arizona, U.S.A.
incorporates concepts from his original 1897 papers.
[17]

Sir Nevill Mott, Nobel Laureate in 1977 for his own contributions to solid-state
electronics, remarked that "J.C. Bose was at least 60 years ahead of his time" and "In
fact, he had anticipated the existence of P-type and N-type semiconductors."
[edit] Plant research
Bose's next contribution to science was in plant physiology. He forwarded a theory for
the ascent of sap in plants in 1927, his theory contributed to the vital theory of ascent of
sap. According to his theory, electromechanical pulsations of living cells were
responsible for the ascent of sap in plants.
He was skeptical about the then, and still now, most popular theory for the ascent of sap,
the tension-cohesion theory of Dixon and Joly, first proposed in 1894. The 'CP theory',
proposed by Canny in 1995,
[20]
validates this skepticism. Canny experimentally
demonstrated pumping in the living cells in the junction of the endodermis.
In his research in plant stimuli, Bose showed with the help of his newly invented
crescograph that plants responded to various stimuli as if they had nervous systems like
that of animals. He therefore found a parallelism between animal and plant tissues. His
experiments showed that plants grow faster in pleasant music and their growth is
retarded in noise or harsh sound. This was experimentally verified later on.
[citation needed]

His major contribution in the field of biophysics was the demonstration of the electrical
nature of the conduction of various stimuli (e.g., wounds, chemical agents) in plants,
which were earlier thought to be of a chemical nature. These claims were later proven
experimentally by Wildon et al. (Nature, 1992, 360, 6265). He was also the first to
study the action of microwaves in plant tissues and corresponding changes in the cell
membrane potential. He researched the mechanism of the seasonal effect on plants, the
effect of chemical inhibitors on plant stimuli, the effect of temperature etc. From the
analysis of the variation of the cell membrane potential of plants under different
circumstances, he deduced the claim that plants can "feel pain, understand affection
etc.".
[edit] Electrical response in metals
J.C. Bose was the first physicist who began an examination of inorganic matter (metals
and certain rocks) in the same way as a biologist examines a muscle or a nerve. He
subjected metals to various kinds of stimulusmechanical, thermal, chemical, and
electrical. He found that all sorts of stimulus produce an excitatory change in them. And
this excitation sometimes expresses itself in a visible change of form and sometimes not;
but the disturbance produced by the stimulus always exhibits itself in an electric
response. He next subjected plants and animal tissues to various kinds of stimulus and
also found that they also give an electric response. Finding that a universal reaction
brought together metals, plants and animals under a common law, he next proceeded to a
study of modifications in response, which occur under various conditions. He found that
they are all(metals and living tissues) benumbed by cold, intoxicated by alcohol, wearied
by excessive work, stupified by anaesthetics, excited by electric currents, stung by
physical blows and killed by poisonthey all exhibit essentially the same phenomena of
fatigue and depression, together with possibilities of recovery and of exaltation, yet also
that of permanent irresponsiveness which is associated with deaththey all are
responsive or irresponsive under the same conditions and in the same manner. The
investigations showed that, in the entire range of response phenomena (inclusive as that
is of metals, plants and animals) there is no breach of continuity; that the living
response in all its diverse modifications is only a repetition of responses seen in the
inorganic and that the phenomena of response are determined, not by the play of an
unknowable and arbitrary vital force, but by the working of laws that know no change,
acting equally and uniformly throughout the organic and inorganic matter.
[21][22]

[edit] Science fiction
In 1896, Bose wrote Niruddesher Kahini, the first major work in Bangla science fiction.
Later, he added the story in the Abyakta book as Palatak Tuphan. He was the first
science fiction writer in the Bengali language.
[23]

[edit] Bose and patents
The inventor of "Wireless Telecommunications", Bose was not interested in patenting
his invention. In his Friday Evening Discourse at the Royal Institution, London, he made
public his construction of the coherer. Thus The Electric Engineer expressed "surprise
that no secret was at anytime made as to its construction, so that it has been open to all
the world to adopt it for practical and possibly moneymaking purposes."
[7]
Bose declined
an offer from a wireless apparatus manufacturer for signing a remunerative agreement. It
might be interesting to note here that although Sir J. C. Bose did not see the merit of
patenting, Swami Vivekananda disagreed. However, prior to his trip to USA, Swami
Vivekananda visited Prof. J. C. Bose and tried to convince him to patent this invention of
his. Since he knew that it wouldl be futile to try convince him do such an act, he instead
made copies of this ground breaking and carried it with him to USA. Besides, delivering
his world famous talk at the conference on World Religions, Swami Vivekananda asked
one of his disciples, Sara Chapman Bull, to file a patent application for "detector for
electrical disturbances" in the absence of Sir J. C. Bose. The application was filed on 30
September 1901 and it was granted as US 755840on 29 March 1904. This act of Swami
Vivekananda has finally garnered an Indian scientist with the recognition for being one
of the founding fathers of wireless communication. Prof. J. C. Bose never visited USA.
Speaking in New Delhi in August 2006, at a seminar titled Owning the Future: Ideas and
Their Role in the Digital Age, Dr. V S Ramamurthy, the Chairman of the Board of
Governors of IIT Delhi, stressed the attitude of Bose towards patents:
"His reluctance to any form of patenting is well known. It was contained in his letter to (Indian
Nobel laureate) Rabindranath Tagore dated 17 May 1901 from London. It was not that Sir
Jagadish was unaware of patents and its advantages. He was the first Indian to get a US Patent
(No: 755840) in 1904. And Sir Jagadish was not alone in his avowed reluctance to patenting.
Roentgen, Pierre Curie and others also chose the path of no patenting on moral grounds."
However, it is necessary to mention that Roentgen is not the original inventor of X-rays. It was
Nikolai Tesla's invention. Tesla had patented this technology prior to Roentgen inventing it.
Roentgen had eventually met Tesla and had long conversations with him regarding Tesla's
inventions, and might have realized that he could never patent his invention as it was prior art
at that point.
Bose also recorded his attitude towards patents in his inaugural lecture at the
foundation of the Bose Institute on 30 November 1917









A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
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This article is about the former President of India. For the freedom fighter, see Abul Kalam Azad.
Abul Phaqir Jain-ul-Abideen Abdul Kalam



Abdul Kalam at the 12th Wharton India Economic Forum,
2008.
President of India
In office
25 July 2002 24 July 2007
Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Manmohan Singh
Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Preceded by Kocheril Raman Narayanan
Succeeded by Mrs.Pratibha DeviSingh Patil
Personal details
Born
15 October 1931 (age 79)
Rameswaram, British India (now Tamil
Nadu, India)
Political party Independent
Alma mater
St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli
Madras Institute of Technology
Profession Aerospace engineer
Religion Islam
Abul Phaqir Jain-ul-Abideen Abdul Kalam pronunciation (helpinfo) (Tamil:
; born 15 October 1931) usually referred to as A.
P. J. Abdul Kalam, is an Aerospace engineer, professor, and chancellor of the Indian Institute of
Space Science and Technology (IIST), who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to
2007.
[1]
During his term as President, he was popularly known as the People's President.
[2][3]
He
was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.
Before his term as India's president, he worked as an aeronautical engineer with DRDO and
ISRO. He is popularly known as the Missile Man of India for his work on development of
ballistic missile and space rocket technology.
[4]
Kalam played a pivotal organizational, technical
and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test
by India in 1974.
[5]

He is currently the chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, a professor at
Anna University (Chennai), a visiting professor at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad,
Indian Institute of Management Indore, and an adjunct/visiting faculty at many other academic
and research institutions across India.
In May 2011, Dr. Kalam launched his mission for the youth of the nation called the What Can I
Give Movement.
[6]
Dr. Kalam better known as a scientist, also has special interest in the field of
arts like writing Tamil poems, and also playing the music instrument Veena.
[7]

Contents
[hide]
y 1 Early life and education
y 2 Career
y 3 Issues held
o 3.1 Future India: 2020
y 4 Awards and honours
y 5 Books and documentaries
y 6 Quotations
y 7 References
y 8 External links
[edit] Early life and education
Abdul Kalam was born in Rameshwaram, presently Tamil Nadu, in India in 1931. He spent most
of his childhood in financial problems and started working at an early age to supplement his
family's income.
After completing his school education, Kalam graduated in physics from St. Joseph's College,
Tiruchirapalli. He then graduated with a diploma in Aeronautical Engineering in the mid-1950s
from the Madras Institute of Technology.
[8]
As the Project Director, he was heavily involved in
the development of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-II).
[edit] Career
Kalam joined the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in 1958 and served
as a senior scientific assistant, heading a small team that developed a prototype hovercraft.
Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon rode in India's first indigenous hovercraft with Kalam at
the controls. Kalam left the DRDO in 1962 and joined the Indian space programme.
At the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Kalam initiated Fibre-reinforced plastic
(FRP) activities; after a stint with the aerodynamics and design group, he joined the satellite
launch vehicle team at Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram, and soon became Project Director for
Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3). The SLV-3 project culminated in putting the scientific
satellite Rohini into orbit in July 1980. He was honoured with a Padma Bhushan in 1981.
File:Abdul Kalam.jpg
Dr A. P. J Abdul Kalam
Kalam then moved back into the Defence Research Complex at Kanchanbagh, as Director of
Defense Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL). He refused to move into the bungalow
allotted to the Director, preferring to stay in one of the eight suites in the Defence Labs Mess.
The suite, with a small study and a tiny bedroom, was his home for the next decade.
Kalam was instrumental in the re-emergence of the DRDL. This was made possible, as Kalam
and the then Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, Dr.V. S. Arunachalam (who brought
him back to defence research), have always acknowledged, by the crucial role played by R.
Venkataraman, who was Defence Minister. Kalam was asked to prepare a blueprint to make
India a missile nation. After working with DRDL veterans for over six months, followed by
consultations with Arunachalam, Kalam gave a proposal to Venkataraman. He provided a 5
missile development plan that was to be taken up one after the other. The defense minister
suggested that Kalam and Arunachalam recast the plan in such a way as to develop all five
missile types under one programmme. The time frame for these programmes was 10 years.
Out of these initiatives was born the guided missile programme, India's most successful military
research task to date. Kalam's codenames for the Integrated Guided Missile Development
Program (I.G.M.D.P) five components were: Prithvi, a surface-to-surface battlefield missile; Nag
Missile, an anti-tank missile (ATM); Akash missile, a swift, medium-range surface-to-air missile
(SAM); Trishul missile, a quick-reaction SAM with a shorter range,Astra an air to air missile and
Agni, an intermediate range ballistic missile, the mightiest of them all. Trishul missile has the
unique distinction of being capable of serving all three services.
In the new management structure of the Missile Programme, Kalam, as the Chairman of the
Programme Management Board, delegated almost all executive and financial powers to five
carefully selected Project Directors and kept himself free to address the core technology issues.
The missiles went up more or less on schedule: Trishul missile in 1985, Prithvi in 1988, Agni in
1989 and the others in 1990.
Kalam was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1990. After 10 years in DRDL, he went to Delhi to
take over from Arunachalam as Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister from July 1992 to
December 1999. In Delhi, Kalam as head of the DRDO had to oversee other prestigious projects,
such as the Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) projects.
Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted during this period and have been associated with Kalam
although he was not directly involved with the nuclear program at the time.




Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis
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Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis

P.C. Mahalanobis
Born
29 June 1893
Calcutta, India
Died
28 June 1972 (aged 78)
Calcutta, India
Residence
India, United Kingdom, United States
Nationality
India
Fields
Mathematics, Statistics
Institutions
University of Cambridge
Indian Statistical Institute
Alma mater
University of Calcutta
University of Cambridge
Doctoral advisor
Ronald Fisher
Known for
Mahalanobis distance
Notable awards
Weldon Memorial Prize (1944)
Padma Vibhushan (1968)
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, FRS (Bengali: " ') (29 June 1893 28 June
1972) was an Indian scientist and applied statistician. He is best remembered for the
Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure. He made pioneering studies in anthropometry in
India. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute, and contributed to the design of large scale
sample surveys.
[1][2]

Contents
[hide]
y 1 Early life
y 2 The Indian Statistical Institute
y 3 Contributions to statistics
o 3.1 Mahalanobis distance
o 3.2 Sample surveys
y 4 Later life
y 5 Honours
y 6 Notes
y 7 External links
[edit] Early life
Mahalanobis belonged to a family of Bengali landed gentry who lived in Bikrampur (now in
Bangladesh). His grandfather Gurucharan (1833-1916) moved to Calcutta in 1854 and built up a
business, starting a chemist shop in 1860. Gurucharan was influenced by Debendranath Tagore
(1817-1905), father of the Nobel poet, Rabindranath Tagore. Gurucharan was actively involved
in social movements such as the Brahmo Samaj, acting as its Treasurer and President. His house
on 210 Cornwallis Street was the center of the Brahmo Samaj. Gurucharan married a widow
against social traditions. His elder son Subodhchandra (1867-1954) was the father of P. C.
Mahalanobis. He was a distinguished educationist who studied physiology at Edinburgh
University and later became a Professor at the Presidency College became head of the
department of Physiology. Subodhchandra also became a member of the Senate of the Calcutta
University. Born in the house at 210 Cornwallis Street, P. C. Mahalanobis, grew up in a socially
active family surrounded by intellectuals and reformers.
[1]

Mahalanobis received his early schooling at the Brahmo Boys School in Calcutta graduating in
1908. He then joined the Presidency College, Calcutta and received a B.Sc. degree with honours
in physics in 1912. He left for England in 1913 to join Cambridge. He however missed a train
and stayed with a friend at King's College, Cambridge. He was impressed by the Chapel there
and his host's friend M. A. Candeth suggested that he could try joining there, which he did. He
did well in his studies, but also took an interest in cross-country walking and punting on the
river. He interacted with the mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan during the latter's time at
Cambridge. After his Tripos in physics, Mahalanobis worked with C. T. R. Wilson at the
Cavendish Laboratory. He took a short break and went to India and here he was introduced to the
Principal of Presidency College and was invited to take classes in physics.
[1]

He went back to England and was introduced to the journal Biometrika. This interested him so
much that he bought a complete set and took them to India. He discovered the utility of statistics
to problems in meteorology, anthropology and began working on it on his journey back to
India.
[1]

In Calcutta, Mahalanobis met Nirmalkumari, daughter of Herambhachandra Maitra, a leading
educationist and member of the Brahmo Samaj. They married on 27 February 1923 although her
father did not completely approve of it. The contention was partly due to Mahalanobis'
opposition of various clauses in the membership of the student wing of the Brahmo Samaj,
including restraining members from drinking and smoking. Sir Nilratan Sircar, P. C.
Mahalanobis' uncle took part in the wedding ceremony in place of the father of the bride.
[1]

[edit] The Indian Statistical Institute
Main article: Indian Statistical Institute


Mahalanobis memorial at ISI Delhi
Many colleagues of Mahalanobis took an interest in statistics and the group grew in the
Statistical Laboratory located in his room at the Presidency College, Calcutta. A meeting was
called on the 17 December 1931 with Pramatha Nath Banerji (Minto Professor of Economics),
Nikhil Ranjan Sen (Khaira Professor of Applied Mathematics) and Sir R. N. Mukherji. The
meeting led to the establishment of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), and formally registered
on 28 April 1932 as a non-profit distributing learned society under the Societies Registration Act
XXI of 1860.
[1]

The Institute was initially in the Physics Department of the Presidency College and the
expenditure in the first year was Rs. 238. It gradually grew with the pioneering work of a group
of his colleagues including S. S. Bose, J. M. Sengupta, R. C. Bose, S. N. Roy, K. R. Nair, R. R.
Bahadur, G. Kallianpur, D. B. Lahiri and C. R. Rao. The institute also gained major assistance
through Pitamber Pant, who was a secretary to the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Pant was
trained in statistics at the Institute and took a keen interest in the institute.
[1]

In 1933, the journal Sankhya was founded along the lines of Karl Pearson's Biometrika.
[1]

The Institute started a training section in 1938. Many of the early workers left the ISI for careers
in the USA and with the government of India. Mahalanobis invited J. B. S. Haldane to join him
at the ISI and Haldane joined as a Research Professor from August 1957 and stayed on until
February 1961. He resigned from ISI due to frustrations with the administration and
disagreements with Mahalanobis' administrative policies. He was also very concerned with the
frequent travels and absence of the director and wrote The journeyings of our Director define a
novel random vector. Haldane however helped the ISI grow in biometrics.
[3]

In 1959 the Institute was declared as an Institute of national importance and a deemed
university.
[1]

[edit] Contributions to statistics
[edit] Mahalanobis distance
Main article: Mahalanobis distance
A chance meeting with Nelson Annandale, then the director of the Zoological Survey of India, at
the 1920 Nagpur session of the Indian Science Congress led to a problem in anthropology.
Annandale asked him to analyse anthropometric measurements of Anglo-Indians in Calcutta and
this led to his first scientific paper in 1922. During the course of these studies he found a way of
comparing and grouping populations using a multivariate distance measure. This measure, D
2
,
which is now named after him as Mahalanobis distance, is independent of measurement scale.
[1]

Inspired by Biometrika and mentored by Acharya Brajendra Nath Seal he started his statistical
work. Initially he worked on analyzing university exam results, anthropometric measurements on
Anglo-Indians of Calcutta and some meteorological problems. He also worked as a
meteorologist for some time. In 1924, when he was working on the probable error of results of
agricultural experiments, he met Ronald Fisher, with whom he established a life-long friendship.
He also worked on schemes to prevent floods.
[edit] Sample surveys
His most important contributions are related to large scale sample surveys. He introduced the
concept of pilot surveys and advocated the usefulness of sampling methods. Early surveys began
between 1937 to 1944 and included topics such as consumer expenditure, tea-drinking habits,
public opinion, crop acreage and plant disease. Harold Hotelling wrote: "No technique of random
sample has, so far as I can find, been developed in the United States or elsewhere, which can
compare in accuracy with that described by Professor Mahalanobis" and Sir R. A. Fisher
commented that "The I.S.I. has taken the lead in the original development of the technique of
sample surveys, the most potent fact finding process available to the administration".
[1]

He introduced a method for estimating crop yields which involved statisticians sampling in the
fields by cutting crops in a circle of diameter 4 feet. Others such as P. V. Sukhatme and V. G.
Panse who began to work on crop surveys with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and
the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute suggested that a survey system should make
use of the existing administrative framework. The differences in opinion led to acrimony and
there was little interaction between Mahalanobis and agricultural research in later years







Mani Lal Bhaumik
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Mani Bhaumik

Born
Medinipore, West Bengal, India
Residence
United States
Citizenship
United States
Fields
Physicist
Institutions
University of California, Los Angeles, California
State University, Long Beach
Alma mater
Scottish Church College
University of Calcutta
IIT Kharagpur
Doctoral
advisor
Satyendra Nath Bose
Paul Dirac
Known for
LASIK
Mani Lal Bhaumik is an Indian-born American physicist. He has been an author, lecturer,
entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
His early contributions to laser technology are exemplified by the development of the excimer
laser at the Northrop Corporation Research and Technology Center in Los Angeles. As team
leader, Dr. Bhaumik announced the successful demonstration of the world's first efficient
excimer laser at the Denver, Colorado meeting of the Optical Society of America in May 1973.
Subsequently, it found extensive use as the type of laser that made possible the immensely
popular Lasik corrective eye surgery, eliminating the need for glasses or contact lenses in many
cases. In recognition of his pioneering research in high energy lasers and new laser systems, Dr.
Bhaumik has been elected by his peers to fellowships in the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers as well as of the American Physical Society.
Dr. Bhaumik's current interest is in sharing with the public the advances in quantum physics and
cosmology and their implications for both material and spiritual development.
He was given one of India's prestigious civilian award - Padma Shri - in 2011.
Contents
[hide]
y 1 Biography
y 2 Professional career
y 3 Books, media, and philanthropic activities
y 4 Code Name: God
y 5 Honors and awards
y 6 Selected appearances on radio and television
y 7 Philanthropic endeavors
y 8 Notes
y 9 References
y 10 External links
[edit] Biography
Bhaumik was born in a small village in Tamluk, Medinipore, West Bengal India, and thrust into
the vortex of the struggle for Indian independence. Education provided him a way out of poverty.
He walked four miles barefoot to the nearest school, and endured famine, flood, and armed
threat. As an impressionable teenager, He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Scottish
Church College and an M. Sc. from the University of Calcutta. He won the attention of
Satyendra Nath Bose (co-creator of the Bose-Einstein Statistics) who encouraged his prodigious
curiosity. Bhaumik earned a Ph.D in Physics from the IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) at
Kharagpur. His thesis was on Resonant Electronic Energy Transfers, a subject he would have
cause to use in his work with lasers.
[edit] Professional career
Receiving a Sloan Foundation Fellowship in 1959, Dr. Bhaumik came to the University of
California Los Angeles (UCLA) for post doctoral studies. In 1961, he joined the Quantum
Electronics Division at Xerox Electro-Optical Systems in Pasadena and began his career as a
laser scientist. Concurrently, he taught Quantum physics and Astronomy at the California State
University at Long Beach. In 1968, he was enlisted by the Northrop Corporate Research
Laboratory, where he rose to become the director of the Laser Technology Laboratory and led
the team responsible for the development of the excimer laser technology. Dr. Bhaumik
announced the successful demonstration of the world's first efficient excimer laser at the Denver,
Colorado meeting of the Optical Society of America in May 1973. The application of this class
of laser in the patented Lasik eye surgery would eventually eliminate the need for glasses or
contact lenses in many cases.
In recognition of his pioneering research in high energy lasers and new laser systems, he was
elected by his peers as a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as well as
of the American Physical Society.
Dr. Bhaumik's current interest is in sharing with the public the astounding advances in quantum
physics and cosmology and their implications for our lives, work, technology, and spiritual
development. This he endeavors to do through books such as the internationally published Code
Name God and The Cosmic Detective, articles, lectures, and TV programs like the award-
winning Cosmic Quantum Ray. He is also keenly interested in research on the origin and the
nature of consciousness and how that knowledge can be utilised in improving the quality of our
existence.
[1]

Dr. Bhaumik has published over fifty papers in various professional journals and is a holder of a
dozen laser-related U.S. patents. His latest paper, Unified Fieldthe Universal Blueprint?
appeared in the February 2000 issue of the International Journal of Mathematics and
Mathematical Sciences. He has been invited to lecture all over the world, at forums including:
Summer School on High-Power Gas Lasers, Capri, Italy 1975; International Symposium on Gas-
Flow and Chemical Lasers, Belgium 1978; International Symposium on Gas Discharge Lasers,
Grenoble, France 1979; Asoke Sarkar Memorial Lecture, Calcutta International Book Fair 2001;
Institute of Culture, Calcutta, India 2006.
He is the official patron of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA).www.Astronomy2009.org
[edit] Books, media, and philanthropic activities
Dr. Bhaumik utilized the earnings from his scientific career to seed various investments and was
able to leave the poverty of his childhood behind. His life was chronicled on Lifestyles of the
Rich and Famous. Later he discovered that spirituality is an essential ingredient for an abiding
happiness and turned to the study of the relationship between advanced science and spirituality.
His intensive search spanned a decade, produced a number of significant papers, and led him to
the inference that the One Source at the hub of all spiritual traditions is grounded in scientific
reality and not a mere creation of blind faith. He also argues forcefully that contrary to the
popular misconception, science and spirituality are indeed two sides of the same coin, the coin
being that unique human consciousness that allows us to perceive both ourselves and objective
reality. Therefore, he argues in his book Code Name God (Crossroads Publishing), the big
divide between science and spirituality can be bridged. The trick, Bhaumik asserts, is to see
things in an entirely new lighta light shed upon by the recent revelations of quantum physics
and cosmology. He now devotes much of his time and energy to bringing this message to the
public, including its younger members, for whom he has recently published The Cosmic
Detective (Penguin 2008), a primer on cosmology, and created an award winning animated
television series, Quantum Ray, shown on the HUB channel, reaching 60 million homes in USA
and distributed worldwide.
Dr. Bhaumik has instituted an annual International Award through the UCLA Neuropsychiatry
Institute to acknowledge the best scientific evidence demonstrating the effect of mind in healing.
He has been involved in numerous community activities through his association with the Los
Angeles Bombay Sister City Association; the Los Angeles St. Petersburg Sister City association;
the Long Beach Calcutta sister City Association and others. He has donated to various charitable
organizations including the Thalians of Los Angeles. But he is perhaps best known and revered
internationally for his creation of the Bhaumik Educational Foundation, based in Calcutta, which
provides full scholarships to needy but brilliant students who wish to apply themselves to studies
in science and technology.
[2]

[3]

[edit] Code Name: God
First published in the U.S. in 2005, Code Name God (Crossroads Publishing ISBN 10-
0824525191), Code Name: God is a distillation of Dr. Bhaumik's central thesis that the
discoveries of modern physics can be reconciled with the great truths of the world religions when
those truths are viewed as elements of what Aldous Huxley called "The Perennial Philosophy."
In particular, Dr. Bhaumik finds strong support in advanced physics and cosmology for the Neo-
Platonic notion of "the One" (identified here as "The One Source"), and conjectures that this
existential source may reside in what is known as the quantum vacuum state and be in some
manner co-eternal and co-equal with human consciousness. The book and its premise have been
praised by luminaries of both the literary and scientific words, including Alexander Solzhenitsyn,
who wrote, "This example of a personal spiritual growth...and re-evaluation of material
values...arouses very warm feelings. God is one and there are no major differences between
religions." Fritjof Capra, author of The Tao of Physics, wrote "...the attempt to find common
ground between Eastern spirituality and Western science is eloquently told and makes for
fascinating reading." it's seen that most of his arguments are led by his belief and his over
fascination on spirituality, thus his books are creating a lot of controversy























Brahmagupta
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Brahmagupta (Sanskrit: ; ( listen (helpinfo)) (598668 CE) was an Indian
mathematician and astronomer who wrote many important works on mathematics and
astronomy. His best known work is the Brhmasphuasiddhnta (Correctly Established
Doctrine of Brahma), written in 628 in Bhinmal. Its 25 chapters contain several unprecedented
mathematical results.
Contents
[hide]
y 1 Life and work
y 2 Mathematics
o 2.1 Algebra
o 2.2 Arithmetic
2.2.1 Series
2.2.2 Zero
o 2.3 Diophantine analysis
2.3.1 Pythagorean triples
2.3.2 Pell's equation
o 2.4 Geometry
2.4.1 Brahmagupta's formula
2.4.2 Triangles
2.4.3 Brahmagupta's theorem
2.4.4 Pi
2.4.5 Measurements and constructions
o 2.5 Trigonometry
2.5.1 Sine table
2.5.2 Interpolation formula
y 3 Astronomy
y 4 Citations and footnotes
y 5 See also
y 6 References
y 7 External links
Life and work
Brahmagupta is believed to have been born in 598 AD in Bhinmal city in the state of Rajasthan
of Northwest India. In ancient times Bhillamala was the seat of power of the Gurjars. His father
was Jisnugupta.
[1]
He likely lived most of his life in Bhillamala (modern Bhinmal in Rajasthan)
during the reign (and possibly under the patronage) of King Vyaghramukha.
[2]
As a result,
Brahmagupta is often referred to as Bhillamalacarya, that is, the teacher from Bhillamala. He
was the head of the astronomical observatory at Ujjain, and during his tenure there wrote four
texts on mathematics and astronomy: the Cadamekela in 624, the Brahmasphutasiddhanta in
628, the Khandakhadyaka in 665, and the Durkeamynarda in 672. The Brahmasphutasiddhanta
(Corrected Treatise of Brahma) is arguably his most famous work. The historian al-Biruni (c.
1050) in his book Tariq al-Hind states that the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun had an embassy in
India and from India a book was brought to Baghdad which was translated into Arabic as
Sindhind. It is generally presumed that Sindhind is none other than Brahmagupta's
Brahmasphuta-siddhanta.
[3]

Although Brahmagupta was familiar with the works of astronomers following the tradition of
Aryabhatiya, it is not known if he was familiar with the work of Bhaskara I, a contemporary.
[2]

Brahmagupta had a plethora of criticism directed towards the work of rival astronomers, and in
his Brahmasphutasiddhanta is found one of the earliest attested schisms among Indian
mathematicians. The division was primarily about the application of mathematics to the physical
world, rather than about the mathematics itself. In Brahmagupta's case, the disagreements
stemmed largely from the choice of astronomical parameters and theories.
[2]
Critiques of rival
theories appear throughout the first ten astronomical chapters and the eleventh chapter is entirely
devoted to criticism of these theories, although no criticisms appear in the twelfth and eighteenth
chapters.
[2]

Mathematics
Brahmagupta was the first to use zero as a number. He gave rules to compute with zero.
Negative numbers did not appear in Brahmasputa siddhanta but in the Nine Chapters on the
Mathematical Art (Jiu zhang suan-shu) around 200 BC. Brahmagupta's most famous work is his
Brahmasphutasiddhanta. It is composed in elliptic verse, as was common practice in Indian
mathematics, and consequently has a poetic ring to it. As no proofs are given, it is not known
how Brahmagupta's mathematics was derived.
[4]

Algebra
Brahmagupta gave the solution of the general linear equation in chapter eighteen of
Brahmasphutasiddhanta,
The difference between rupas, when inverted and divided by the difference of the unknowns, is
the unknown in the equation. The rupas are [subtracted on the side] below that from which the
square and the unknown are to be subtracted.
[5]

Which is a solution equivalent to , where rupas represents constants. He further gave
two equivalent solutions to the general quadratic equation,
18.44. Diminish by the middle [number] the square-root of the rupas multiplied by four times the
square and increased by the square of the middle [number]; divide the remainder by twice the
square. [The result is] the middle [number].
18.45. Whatever is the square-root of the rupas multiplied by the square [and] increased by the
square of half the unknown, diminish that by half the unknown [and] divide [the remainder] by
its square. [The result is] the unknown.
[5]

Which are, respectively, solutions equivalent to,

and

He went on to solve systems of simultaneous indeterminate equations stating that the
desired variable must first be isolated, and then the equation must be divided by the
desired variable's coefficient. In particular, he recommended using "the pulverizer" to
solve equations with multiple unknowns.
18.51. Subtract the colors different from the first color. [The remainder] divided by the
first [color's coefficient] is the measure of the first. [Terms] two by two [are] considered
[when reduced to] similar divisors, [and so on] repeatedly. If there are many [colors], the
pulverizer [is to be used].
[5]

Like the algebra of Diophantus, the algebra of Brahmagupta was syncopated. Addition
was indicated by placing the numbers side by side, subtraction by placing a dot over the
subtrahend, and division by placing the divisor below the dividend, similar to our
notation but without the bar. Multiplication, evolution, and unknown quantities were
represented by abbreviations of appropriate terms.
[6]
The extent of Greek influence on
this syncopation, if any, is not known and it is possible that both Greek and Indian
syncopation may be derived from a common Babylonian source.
[6]

Arithmetic
Many cultures knew four fundamental operations. The way we do now based on Hindu
Arabic number system first appeared in Brahmasputa siddhanta. Contrary to popular
opinion, the four fundamental operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division) did not appear first in BrahmasputhaSiddhanta, but they were already known by
the Sumerians at least 2500 BC. In BrahmasputhaSiddhanta, Multiplication was named
Gomutrika. In the beginning of chapter twelve of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, entitled
Calculation, Brahmagupta details operations on fractions. The reader is expected to
know the basic arithmetic operations as far as taking the square root, although he
explains how to find the cube and cube-root of an integer and later gives rules facilitating
the computation of squares and square roots. He then gives rules for dealing with five
types of combinations of fractions, , , , , and
.
[7]

Series
Brahmagupta then goes on to give the sum of the squares and cubes of the first n
integers.
12.20. The sum of the squares is that [sum] multiplied by twice the [number of] step[s]
increased by one [and] divided by three. The sum of the cubes is the square of that [sum]
Piles of these with identical balls [can also be computed].
[8]

It is important to note here Brahmagupta found the result in terms of the sum of the first
n integers, rather than in terms of n as is the modern practice.
[9]

He gives the sum of the squares of the first n natural numbers as n(n+1)(2n+1)/6 and the
sum of the cubes of the first n natural numbers as (n(n+1)/2) .
Zero
Brahmagupta's Brahmasphuasiddhanta is the very first book that mentions zero as a
number, hence Brahmagupta is considered as the man who found zero. He gave rules of
using zero with other numbers. Zero plus a positive number is the positive number etc.
The Brahmasphutasiddhanta is the earliest known text to treat zero as a number in its
own right, rather than as simply a placeholder digit in representing another number as
was done by the Babylonians or as a symbol for a lack of quantity as was done by
Ptolemy and the Romans. In chapter eighteen of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta,
Brahmagupta describes operations on negative numbers. He first describes addition and
subtraction,
18.30. [The sum] of two positives is positives, of two negatives negative; of a positive
and a negative [the sum] is their difference; if they are equal it is zero. The sum of a
negative and zero is negative, [that] of a positive and zero positive, [and that] of two
zeros zero.
[...]
18.32. A negative minus zero is negative, a positive [minus zero] positive; zero [minus
zero] is zero. When a positive is to be subtracted from a negative or a negative from a
positive, then it is to be added.
[5]

He goes on to describe multiplication,
18.33. The product of a negative and a positive is negative, of two negatives positive,
and of positives positive; the product of zero and a negative, of zero and a positive, or of
two zeros is zero.
[5]

But his description of division by zero differs from our modern understanding,
18.34. A positive divided by a positive or a negative divided by a negative is positive; a
zero divided by a zero is zero; a positive divided by a negative is negative; a negative
divided by a positive is [also] negative.
18.35. A negative or a positive divided by zero has that [zero] as its divisor, or zero
divided by a negative or a positive [has that negative or positive as its divisor]. The
square of a negative or of a positive is positive; [the square] of zero is zero. That of
which [the square] is the square is [its] square-root.
[5]

Here Brahmagupta states that and as for the question of where he did not
commit himself.
[10]
His rules for arithmetic on negative numbers and zero are quite close
to the modern understanding, except that in modern mathematics division by zero is left
undefined.
Diophantine analysis
Pythagorean triples
In chapter twelve of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, Brahmagupta finds Pythagorean
triples,
12.39. The height of a mountain multiplied by a given multiplier is the distance to a city;
it is not erased. When it is divided by the multiplier increased by two it is the leap of one
of the two who make the same journey.
[8]

or in other words, for a given length m and an arbitrary multiplier x, let a = mx and b = m
+ mx/(x + 2). Then m, a, and b form a Pythagorean triple.
[8]

Pell's equation
Brahmagupta went on to give a recurrence relation for generating solutions to certain
instances of Diophantine equations of the second degree such as Nx
2
+ 1 = y
2
(called
Pell's equation) by using the Euclidean algorithm. The Euclidean algorithm was known
to him as the "pulverizer" since it breaks numbers down into ever smaller pieces.
[11]

The nature of squares:
18.64. [Put down] twice the square-root of a given square by a multiplier and increased
or diminished by an arbitrary [number]. The product of the first [pair], multiplied by the
multiplier, with the product of the last [pair], is the last computed.
18.65. The sum of the thunderbolt products is the first. The additive is equal to the
product of the additives. The two square-roots, divided by the additive or the subtractive,
are the additive rupas.
[5]

The key to his solution was the identity,
[12]


which is a generalization of an identity that was discovered by Diophantus,

Using his identity and the fact that if (x
1
, y
1
) and (x
2
, y
2
) are solutions to the
equations x
2
Ny
2
= k
1
and x
2
Ny
2
= k
2
, respectively, then (x
1
x
2
+ Ny
1
y
2
, x
1
y
2
+
x
2
y
1
) is a solution to x
2
Ny
2
= k
1
k
2
, he was able to find integral solutions to the
Pell's equation through a series of equations of the form x
2
Ny
2
= k
i
.
Unfortunately, Brahmagupta was not able to apply his solution uniformly for all
possible values of N, rather he was only able to show that if x
2
Ny
2
= k has an
integral solution for k = 1, 2, or 4, then x
2
Ny
2
= 1 has a solution. The
solution of the general Pell's equation would have to wait for Bhaskara II in c.
1150 CE.
[12]

Geometry
Brahmagupta's formula


Diagram for reference
Main article: Brahmagupta's formula
Brahmagupta's most famous result in geometry is his formula for cyclic
quadrilaterals. Given the lengths of the sides of any cyclic quadrilateral,
Brahmagupta gave an approximate and an exact formula for the figure's area,
12.21. The approximate area is the product of the halves of the sums of the sides
and opposite sides of a triangle and a quadrilateral. The accurate [area] is the
square root from the product of the halves of the sums of the sides diminished by
[each] side of the quadrilateral.
[8]

So given the lengths p, q, r and s of a cyclic quadrilateral, the approximate area
is while, letting , the exact area is

Although Brahmagupta does not explicitly state that these quadrilaterals are
cyclic, it is apparent from his rules that this is the case.
[13]
Heron's formula is
a special case of this formula and it can be derived by setting one of the sides
equal to zero.
Triangles
Brahmagupta dedicated a substantial portion of his work to geometry. One
theorem states that the two lengths of a triangle's base when divided by its
altitude then follows,
12.22. The base decreased and increased by the difference between the
squares of the sides divided by the base; when divided by two they are the
true segments. The perpendicular [altitude] is the square-root from the square
of a side diminished by the square of its segment.
[8]

Thus the lengths of the two segments are .
He further gives a theorem on rational triangles. A triangle with rational
sides a, b, c and rational area is of the form:

for some rational numbers u, v, and w.
[14]

Brahmagupta's theorem
Main article: Brahmagupta theorem


Brahmagupta's theorem states that AF = FD.
Brahmagupta continues,
12.23. The square-root of the sum of the two products of the sides and
opposite sides of a non-unequal quadrilateral is the diagonal. The square
of the diagonal is diminished by the square of half the sum of the base
and the top; the square-root is the perpendicular [altitudes].
[8]

So, in a "non-unequal" cyclic quadrilateral (that is, an isosceles
trapezoid), the length of each diagonal is .
He continues to give formulas for the lengths and areas of geometric
figures, such as the circumradius of an isosceles trapezoid and a scalene
quadrilateral, and the lengths of diagonals in a scalene cyclic
quadrilateral. This leads up to Brahmagupta's famous theorem,
12.30-31. Imaging two triangles within [a cyclic quadrilateral] with
unequal sides, the two diagonals are the two bases. Their two segments
are separately the upper and lower segments [formed] at the intersection
of the diagonals. The two [lower segments] of the two diagonals are two
sides in a triangle; the base [of the quadrilateral is the base of the
triangle]. Its perpendicular is the lower portion of the [central]
perpendicular; the upper portion of the [central] perpendicular is half of
the sum of the [sides] perpendiculars diminished by the lower [portion of
the central perpendicular].
[8]

Pi
In verse 40, he gives values of ,
12.40. The diameter and the square of the radius [each] multiplied by 3
are [respectively] the practical circumference and the area [of a circle].
The accurate [values] are the square-roots from the squares of those two
multiplied by ten.
[8]

So Brahmagupta uses 3 as a "practical" value of , and as an
"accurate" value of .
Measurements and constructions
In some of the verses before verse 40, Brahmagupta gives constructions
of various figures with arbitrary sides. He essentially manipulated right
triangles to produce isosceles triangles, scalene triangles, rectangles,
isosceles trapezoids, isosceles trapezoids with three equal sides, and a
scalene cyclic quadrilateral.
After giving the value of pi, he deals with the geometry of plane figures
and solids, such as finding volumes and surface areas (or empty spaces
dug out of solids). He finds the volume of rectangular prisms, pyramids,
and the frustum of a square pyramid. He further finds the average depth
of a series of pits. For the volume of a frustum of a pyramid, he gives the
"pragmatic" value as the depth times the square of the mean of the edges
of the top and bottom faces, and he gives the "superficial" volume as the
depth times their mean area.
[15]

Trigonometry
Sine table
In Chapter 2 of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, entitled Planetary True
Longitudes, Brahmagupta presents a sine table:
2.2-5. The sines: The Progenitors, twins; Ursa Major, twins, the Vedas;
the gods, fires, six; flavors, dice, the gods; the moon, five, the sky, the
moon; the moon, arrows, suns [...]
[16]

Here Brahmagupta uses names of objects to represent the digits of place-
value numerals, as was common with numerical data in Sanskrit
treatises. Progenitors represents the 14 Progenitors ("Manu") in Indian
cosmology or 14, "twins" means 2, "Ursa Major" represents the seven
stars of Ursa Major or 7, "Vedas" refers to the 4 Vedas or 4, dice
represents the number of sides of the tradition die or 6, and so on. This
information can be translated into the list of sines, 214, 427, 638, 846,
1051, 1251, 1446, 1635, 1817, 1991, 2156, 2312, 1459, 2594, 2719,
2832, 2933, 3021, 3096, 3159, 3207, 3242, 3263, and 3270, with the
radius being 3270.
[17]

Interpolation formula
In 665 Brahmagupta devised and used a special case of the Newton
Stirling interpolation formula of the second-order to interpolate new
values of the sine function from other values already tabulated.
[18]
The
formula gives an estimate for the value of a function f at a value a + xh
of its argument (with h > 0 and 1 x 1) when its value is already
known at a h, a and a + h.
The formula for the estimate is:

where is the first-order forward-difference operator, i.e.

Astronomy
It was through the Brahmasphutasiddhanta that the Arabs
learned of Indian astronomy.
[19]
The famous Abbasid caliph Al-
Mansur (712775) founded Baghdad, which is situated on the
banks of the Tigris, and made it a center of learning. The caliph
invited a scholar of Ujjain by the name of Kankah in 770 A.D.
Kankah used the Brahmasphutasiddhanta to explain the Hindu
system of arithmetic astronomy. Muhammad al-Fazari translated
Brahmugupta's work into Arabic upon the request of the caliph.
In chapter seven of his Brahmasphutasiddhanta, entitled Lunar
Crescent, Brahmagupta rebuts the idea that the Moon is farther
from the Earth than the Sun, an idea which is maintained in
scriptures. He does this by explaining the illumination of the
Moon by the Sun.
[20]

7.1. If the moon were above the sun, how would the power of
waxing and waning, etc., be produced from calculation of the
[longitude of the] moon? the near half [would be] always bright.
7.2. In the same way that the half seen by the sun of a pot
standing in sunlight is bright, and the unseen half dark, so is [the
illumination] of the moon [if it is] beneath the sun.
7.3. The brightness is increased in the direction of the sun. At the
end of a bright [i.e. waxing] half-month, the near half is bright
and the far half dark. Hence, the elevation of the horns [of the
crescent can be derived] from calculation. [...]
[21]

He explains that since the Moon is closer to the Earth than the
Sun, the degree of the illuminated part of the Moon depends on
the relative positions of the Sun and the Moon, and this can be
computed from the size of the angle between the two bodies.
[20]

Some of the important contributions made by Brahmagupta in
astronomy are: methods for calculating the position of heavenly
bodies over time (ephemerides), their rising and setting,
conjunctions, and the calculation of solar and lunar eclipses.
[22]

Brahmagupta criticized the Puranic view that the Earth was flat
or hollow. Instead, he observed that the Earth and heaven were
spherical and that the Earth is moving. In 1030, the Muslim
astronomer Abu al-Rayhan al-Biruni, in his Ta'rikh al-Hind, later
translated into Latin as Indica, commented on Brahmagupta's
work and wrote that critics argued:
"If such were the case, stones would and trees would fall from the
earth."
[23]

According to al-Biruni, Brahmagupta responded to these
criticisms with the following argument on gravitation:
"On the contrary, if that were the case, the earth would not vie in
keeping an even and uniform pace with the minutes of heaven, the
pranas of the times. [...] All heavy things are attracted towards the
center of the earth. [...] The earth on all its sides is the same; all
people on earth stand upright, and all heavy things fall down to the
earth by a law of nature, for it is the nature of the earth to attract and
to keep things, as it is the nature of water to flow, that of fire to burn,
and that of wind to set in motion The earth is the only low thing,
and seeds always return to it, in whatever direction you may throw
them away, and never rise upwards from the earth."
[24]

About the Earth's gravity he said: "Bodies fall towards the earth
as it is in the nature of the earth to attract bodies, just as it is in
the nature of water to flow







Ashok Gadgil
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Ashok Gadgil (born 1950 in India) is a physicist with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(LBNL) in Berkeley, and a professor in civil and environmental engineering at the University of
California, Berkeley. He is best known for "UV Waterworks" - a simple, effective and
inexpensive water disinfection system.
Contents
[hide]
y 1 Education
y 2 Career
y 3 Awards
y 4 UV Waterworks
y 5 Darfur Stoves Project
y 6 Film
y 7 References
y 8 External links
[edit] Education
He has a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.Sc. from IIT, Kanpur, and a
B.Sc. from Bombay University, all in Physics.
[edit] Career
At LBNL, where Dr. Gadgil is Acting Director of the Environmental Energy Technologies
Division, he leads a group of about 20 researchers conducting experimental and modeling
research in indoor airflow and pollutant transport. Most of that work is focused on protecting
building occupants from the threat of chemical and biological attacks. In recent years, he has
worked on ways to inexpensively remove arsenic from Bangladesh drinking water, and on
improving cookstoves for Darfur (Sudan) refugees.
Dr. Gadgil has substantial experience in technical, economic, and policy research on energy
efficiency and its implementation - particularly in developing countries. He has authored or co-
authored more than 70 journal papers, and more than 100 conference papers.
In 1998 and again in 2006, Dr. Gadgil was invited by the Smithsonian Institution's Lemelson
Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation to speak at the National Museum of American
History about his life and work.
[edit] Awards
Among his other awards are the Pew Fellowship in Conservation and the Environment in 1991
for his work on accelerating energy efficiency in developing countries, the World Technology
Award for energy in 2002, the Tech Laureate Award in 2004, and in 2009, a 15th Annual Heinz
Award with special focus on the environment. .
[1]
Dr. Gadgil is Professor of Civil and
Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley, and was the Map-Ming Visiting Professor in Civil
and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University.
[edit] UV Waterworks
UV Waterworks uses the UV light emitted by a low-pressure mercury discharge (similar to that
in a fluorescent lamp) to disinfect drinking water. Effective disinfection at affordable cost is the
primary and most important feature of UV Waterworksallowing an entire system (including
costs of pumps, filters, tanks, armpits, consumables, and employee salaries for operation) to sell
drinking water at about 2 cents US for 12 liters even in deep rural areas, where personal incomes
are commonly less than $1 US per day.
This business model, developed and implemented by WaterHealth International, makes safe
drinking water affordable and accessible to even poor communities in developing countries. For
UV Waterworks, Dr. Gadgil received the Discover Award in 1996 for the most significant
environmental invention of the year, as well as the Popular Science Award for "Best of What is
New - 1996".
[edit] Darfur Stoves Project
The Darfur Stoves Project seeks to protect Darfuri women by providing them with specially
developed stoves which require less firewood, hence decreasing womens exposure to violence
while collecting firewood and their need to trade food rations for fuel.
The Darfur Stoves Project collaborates with international organizations such as Oxfam America
and the Sudanese organization, Sustainable Action Group (SAG). By mid-2011 the Darfur
Stoves Project has produced nearly 16,000 stoves.
The Darfur Stoves Project is the first initiative of the nonprofit organization, Technology
Innovation for Sustainable Societies (TISS). The mission of TISS is to link research institutions,
nonprofit organizations, and private distributors to increase the availability of affordable,
appropriate technology to help improve the quality of life and create employment in places
affected by poverty and conflict