What are mahavira’s contributions to mathematics?

Mahavira was an Indian mathematician who lived in 9^th century. He worked in Mysore in southern India. Where he was a member of a school of mathematics. Mahavira made significant contributions to the development of algebra.

          The only known book by mahavira is ‘Ganita Sara Samgraha,’ dated 850 AD. It consisted of nine chapters, and included all the mathematical knowledge of 9^th century India.

          There where many indian mathematicians before the time of mahavira but perhaps, surprisingly, their work on mathematics is always contained in texts which discuss other topics such as astronomy.

          The ganita sara samgraha by mahavira is the earliest Indian text we possess, which is devoted entirely to mathematics. Mahavira also stressed the importance of mathematics in all kinds of disciplines, including cooking.

Why is brahmadeva considered one of the immortals of mathematics?

Brahmadeva was an Indian mathematician who wrote a commentary on the work of Aryabhata. He lived between 1060 and 1130 AD in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh.

            Brahmadeva’s commentary is in nine chapters, and it follows the contents of  the original work of aryabhata, including the longitudes of the planets, problems relating to the daily rotation of the heavens, eclipses of the sun and moon, risings and settings, the lunar crescent, and conjunctions of the planets.

            Brahmadeva’s commentary, dealing partly with trigonometry and its applications to astronomy, was particularly popular in madras, Mysore, and Maharashtra.

            Brahmadeva died at the age of 70, but his reputation as a scientist, mathematician, astronomer, and academician lives on.

TERMS FOR NUMBERS

Bhaskaracharya has given the terms for numbers in multiples of ten. They are eka(1), dasha(10), shata(100), sahasra(1000), ayuta(10,000),  laksha(100,000), prayuta(1,000,000=1 milion) and so on.

 Bhaskaracharya considered a genius

Bhaskaracharya was a genius in mathematics, especially in algebra and geometry. He was born in sahyadri, and headed the astronomical observatory in Ujjain.

            Bhaskaracharaya also known as Bhaskara II(AD 1114-1183), wrote six books on arithematic, algebra, trigonometry, calculus, geometry, and astronomy.  He suggested simple methods to calculate the square, square roots,cube, and cube roots of big numbers.

            The Pythagoras theorem was proved by him in only two lines. Bhaskaracharya wrote about the gravitational force that helps to keep the planets, the sun, and the moon in their respective orbits much before the rest of the world even though about such an explanation. His work on calculus predates newton and Leibniz by over half a millennium. He is particularly known for the discovery of the principles of differential calculus, and its application to astronomical problems and computations. His renowned works are ‘Lilavati’ and ‘Bijaganita’.

Why is sridhara considered to be a great mathematician?

Sridhara

Sridhara, was an Indian mathematician who lived around the 10^th century (AD 870-930). There  are two theories concerning his birthplace. Some historians believe that sridhara was born in southern india. He is famous for his writings on the practical applications of algebra, and he was one of the first to give a formula for solving quadratic equations.

          Sridhara is known as the author of two mathematical treatises, namely the trisatika, sometimes called the patiganitasara, and the patiganita. However, at least three other works have been attributed to him too. The patiganita covers the mathematical operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, finding squares, cubes and their roots, fractions, proportions, and some geometrical principles, but the last section is lost. The Trisatika is a brief summary of the patiganita.

Why is patanjali respected to this day?

Statue of Patanjali

Patanjali, or Acharya Patanjali as he has been known through the ages, was one of the great yogies of all time. He lived in the 2^nd century BC, and is credited with the first attempt to bring together all the knowledge contained in the ancient indian science of yoga. He prescribed the control of prana or life breath as the means to conrol the body, mind, and soul. Acharya Patanjali’s 84 yogic postures effectively enhance the efficiency of the respiratory, circulatory, nervous, digestive, and endocrine systems, and many other organs of the body.

            The yoga system of patanjali is known as the Eightfold Path, which leads to the final goal of God-realization. Acharya Patanjali will forever be rembered and revered as a pioneer in the science of self-discipline, happiness, and self-realization.

Why is Brahmagupta considered a great mathematician?

Brahmagupta was a great 7^th century(AD 597-668) Indian mathematician and astronomer hailing from the state of Rajastan. Brahmagupta become the head of the astonomical observatory at Ujjain.

Brahmagupta

            In his work on arithematic, Brahmagupta explained how to find the cube and cube-root of an integer, and gave rules facilitating the computation of squares and square roots. He also gave rules for dealing with five types of combinations of fractions.

            Brahmagupta’s genius,  however, came in his treatment of the concept of zero. Although the number zero is often also attributed to the 7^th century Indian mathematician Bhaskara I, Brahagupta’s ‘Brahhma Sphuta Siddhanta’ is probably the earliest known text to treat zero as a number in its own rigth, rather than as simply a placehoder digit as was done till then.

            Brahmagupta also dedicated a substantial portion of his work to geometry and trigonomery.

Why is Aryabhata considered to be one of the greatest of astronomers?

Aryabhata is a famous indian mathematician and astronomer, who was born in 476 AD, he studied at the University of nalanda. Later, he become the head of the university.

ARYABHATA

Aryabhata is considered to have changed the course of mathematics and astonomy to a grate wxtent. He was the first to deduce that the Earth is round, and that it rotates on its own axis, creating day and night. He declared that the moon is dark and shines only because of sunlight, and that the eclipses are caused by the shadows cast by the Earth and Moon.

           
 His most famous works are Aryabhatiya, and the arya Siddhanta. Aryabhata was the first in the line of great mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of  Indian mathematics and astonomy. India’s first satellite is named after him.

Why was Varahamihira considered one of the nine jewels of Vikramaditya’s court?

Varahamihira

Varahamihira was an indian astrologer, astronomer, and mathematician who lived in Ujjain between 505 and 587 AD. His book ‘Pancha Siddhanta’ holds a prominent place in the realm of astronomy. The work is a treastise on mathematical astonomy, and it summarizes five earlier astronomical treatises.

            Varahamihira’s other works reveal his discoveries in the fields of geography, science, botony, and animal science.

            In his treatise on botanical science, Varahamihira presents cures for various diseases afflicting plants and trees. His work ‘Brihat Samhita’ gives us desciptions of heavenly bodies, their movements, and conjunctions.

            Varahamihira made some important mathematical discoveries as well. He was considered to be one of the nine jewels or navaratnas of the court of the legendary ruler Vikramaditya of Ujjain for his contributions to different branches of science.

Who was nagarjuna?

Nagarjuna was a great indian scientist who was born in Gujarat in AD 931. He was a chemist, an alchemist, metallurgist and medicine man.

            As an alchemist, he knew the art of transmuting base metals to look like gold. The Arabs learnt the technique from him, and called it AI kimia. Medieval Europeans learnt about it from the Arabs, and called it alchemy.

Nagaruna’s most famous work is ‘Rasaratnakara,’ which deals with preparations of rasa- or mercury- compounds. In his treatise, he has discussed methods for the extraction of metals like gold, silver, tin, and copper.

            As the author of medical books like ‘Arogya manjari’ and ‘Yogasara’, he also made significant contributions to the field of curative medicine. Because of his profound scholarliness and versatile knownledge, he was appointed as chancellor of the famous University of Nalanda. He was one of the wizards of chemistry, and his discoveries continue to impress and astonish scientist even today.

CHARAKA SAMHITA

‘Charaka Samhita’ is the famous Ayurvedic treatise written by Charaka. It has remained a standard work on the subject for more than two thousand years, and has been trsnslated into many languages, including Latine and Arabic.

Why is kanada associated with the atom?

The sage kanada, who lived in the 6^th century BC, was the world’s first proponent  of the ‘atomic theory’. He stated that the atom- or paramanu- is indivisible, and that the world is made up of atoms. He has classified all the objects of creation into nine elements earth, water, light, wind, ether, time, space, mind, and soul. According to him, every object of creation is made of atoms. Kanada added that there are a variety of paramanu that are as different as the different classes of substances. Each paramanu has a peculiar property which is the same as the class of substance it belongs to. Kanada spoke of the tendency of atoms or paramanu to combine together to form what we now call molecules. Kanada also put forward the idea of chemical change, which he said is caused by heat. Kanada was a genius, philosopher, and the pioneer of the atamic theory.

HALAYUDHA

Halayudha was an indian mathematician who lived in the 10^th century AD. He is believed to be the first person to give a clear description of a geometrical arrangement now known as pascal’s triangle.

Why is charaka called the ‘the father of medicine’?

Acharya Charak

Charaka was born around 300 BC. He is belived to have benn a wandering Buddhist monk and physician, and was one of the principal contributors to the ancient art and science of ayurveda. He wrote a famous treatise called ‘Charaka Samhita’, which is used as a referance book even today. Charaka was the first physician to present the concept of digestion, metabolism, immunity, and the fundamental of genetics. He studied the anatomy of the human body and various organs, and calculated 360 as the total number of bones, including teeth, present in the human body. He wrongly believed that the heart had one cavity, but he was right when he considered it to be a contolling center.

            Charaka never just treated diseases. He would first study all the factors, including enveronment, which influence a patient’s disease, and only then, prescribe a course of treatment. To this day, charaka is called the father of medicine, and is famed for his power to illuminate the reason for illness with the lamp of knownledge and understanding.

Why is sushruta called ‘the father of plastic surgery?’

SUSHRUTA STATUE

Sushruta was one of the earliest surgeons in recorded history. He lived in the 6^th century BC, nearly 150 years before hippocrates, and left a book, the ‘Susthruta Samhita,’ explaining his surgical methods.

            In his book, sushruta described how to pull teeth, how to fix broken bones, and how to fix blockages of the intestines.

Sushruta was the first physician to advocate what is today known as the ‘caesarean’ surgery. He was also an expert in removing kidkey stones, and locating and treating fractures.

            Sushruta was the first physician who mened a nose almost 26 centuries ago. The technique he used is not very different from what a plastic surgeon uses today.

Why is Baudhayana associated with the pythagoras theorem?

BAUDHAYANA

A famous theorem in geometry, known as the pythagoras theorem was actually explained by an indian mathematician called baudhayana, many years before pythagoras was born. Baudhayana lived around 800 BC. Pythagoras lived between 580 and 500 BC. Baudhayana was the author of one of the earliest documents in indian mathematics. It is believed that pythagoras actually travelled to Egypt, and then india, and learned many important mathematical theories, among them what is now known as the pythagoras theorem. Baudhayana has made many other important discoveries. These included how to draw a circle and a square having the same area, the value of the square root of two, and the approximate value of ‘pi’ which is calculated and corrected to five decimals.

INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER

                  

An Internet Cafe in China

                   An internet service provider is a company that acts like a gateway between your computer, and the rest of the net. An internet service provider or ISP, maintains cabling and network services in order to transfer and deliver web content to those paying the subscription fee. Depending on where you live, you might pay a set price per month or year, for unlimited access. You can also opt for an hourly rate or a tariff based on how much you download. The ISP you select gives you a software package, username and password. Equipped with a device called a modem, you can then log on to the internet, browse the World Wide Web.

Spam

When many copies of the same message flood the internet, the message is considered to be spam or junk mail. Spam is basically any kind of unwanted online communication. The most common form of spam is annoying but harmless while others can be a part of a fraudulent scheme. To protect yourself against email spam, use email software with built-in spam filtering.

search engines important

                               A search engine is a software program in your computer that enables you to locate information on the World Wide Web. Searchengines look through their own databases of information in order to find what it is that you are looking for. To use a search engine, you must find type in what you want to find. The search engines software quickly sorts through millions of pages in its database to find matches to the words you have typed in.

Ted Nelson

Hypertext

Hypertext is a special database system. It links related objects like text, pictures, and music programs. When you select an object, you can see all the other objects that are linked to it, and access them by clicking on that phrase or object. Example, if you are reading about a singer, the name of his most famous songs will be part of the document. If you click on a name, the words of the screen. Hypertext was invented by Ted Nelson in the 1960’s.

WEB BROWSER

Logo of Web Browser Google Chrome

Logo of Web Browser Mozilla Firefox

                  

                                      








Every time you go online, visit websites, browse different web pages, or go to your favorite email portal, you use a web browser. Web browsers are basically software programs that allow you to search for, and view various kinds of information on the web, such as web sites, video and audio. The browser gets in contact with the web server, and requests for information. The web server receives the information, and displays it on the computer.

                         A web browser is important because it allows anyone to ‘browse the web,’ by simply pointing and clicking, bypassing the need to know commands used in software languages. The parts of a browser include the status bar, address bar, title bar, tool bar, display window, and scroll bar. The most popular web browsers today are internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Google Chrome etc. To sum up, web browsers have helped shape the internet as we know it today, making web browsing a very pleasant experience.

Passwords

Passwords are commonly used to access your computer or email. A password is a secret word, or string of characters that proves your  identity, and prevents unauthorized persons from viewing your computer files or accounts.

Difference between a homepage and a website

A homepage can refer to the page that appears on your screen when you start your browser. It can also refer to the front page of a website. You can chose any webpage as your homepage, and access it quickly by clicking on the ‘home’ button.  A website is a collection of one or more web pages designed to convey information on a particular subject or theme to a web user.

Hosts, Servers, Clients

                  
                       A host in internet language refers to any computer that is open to external online access. A server is a computer where web pages are stored, and are made available for outside access. The software you use to perform online operations is known as the client. Hosts, servers, and clients are not people at all!

Bandwidth different from broadband

ADSL Modem

Bandwidth and broadband are terms that are commonly associated with the internet. Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be carried from one point to another in a given time period-usually a second, or bps. Broadband is the name given to any fast, permanent internet connection. It can be delivered by cable, satellite, mobile, fiber optics and ADSL, which is technology for high- speed internet access.

When the internet revolution began, users accessed the net via dial-up and a ‘modem’ –a piece of hardware that converts signals from your computer, so they can travel down a telephone line, and vice-versa. This could be painfully slow and it tied up your phone line. A broadband connection makes internet more enjoyable as it is so much faster. This is because a broadband connection can download more chunks of data-‘bits’ simultaneously.

Connect to the internet 

        If you want to log on to the Internet, you need a computer that     has internet software. You will also need a modem. The data is received by a computer on the net, and routed to its destination. Finally, the destination computer receives, and process the data that has been sent.

WWW Birth

Tim Berners-Lee

The World Wide Web is the brainchild of Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist. It was originally developed in 1989 to allow scientists working in different universities all over the world to share information. The basic idea was to merge the technologies of personal computers, networks, and the hypertext into a powerful, yet easy to use global communication system.

The internet different from the web

The internet is a massive network of networks that connects millions of computers together globally. In this network, any computer can communicate with any other computer, as long as they are both connected to the internet.

The web, on the other hand, is like a bunch of ‘pages’ of information connected to each other around the globe. What makes web pages interesting is that they contain hyperlinks. Each links points to another web pages. Another characteristic of the web is that you can search it. These invisible connections between pages are like the threads of a spider’s web, hence the name World Wide Web.

Who controls the internet?

An Internet cafe
 in the ship 'Golden princess'

The answer to this is no one! The internet belongs to, and no single government or organization controls it. Rather, it is made up of many individuals that are owned by different individuals and organizations. There are, however, several major players who have a key role in ensuring that the internet functions smoothly. There is ICANN, which co- ordinates domain names, while the internet society acts as a clearing house for technical standards, and the World Wide Web consortium plots the web’s feature. Software are controlled by corporations such as Microsoft.

UPLOAD AND DOWNLOAD

The terms upload and download refer to the direction in which information is going on the internet. Files are considered to be uploaded when they are transferred from a computer or other electronic device, to a central server. Downloading takes place when the files are transferred from a server to a smaller unit, such as a computer, smartphone, or any other device. To put it very simply, ‘download’ and  ‘upload’ imply a scenario in which data is downloaded from the ‘big’ server into the user’s ‘little’ computer, while uploading sends data from the little computer to the big computer.

Vint cerf 

Vint Cerf called the Father of the internet

Vint cerf is often referred to as ‘The father of Internet’. He is an American computer scientist who began his work at the United state Department of Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency. He has played a key role in the development of the Internet.

Along with Robert Kahn, he created a technology thet changed the way people all over the world communicated, and by doing so, changed their lifestyles too. He has been the pioneer of the digital revolution. May be the term ‘to surf the internet’ comes from the ‘Cerf’ in his name?

Netiquette

When you talk about etiquette, you are referring to set of rules that govern socially accepted behavior. Similarly the term ‘netiquette’ describes the rules for online behavior, especially in news groups and chat rooms. For example, according to netiquette, if you type in capitals when sending a message to someone, it is like shouting at that person!

HTTP

Marc Andreessen
Inventor of the
Netscape web browser

‘http’ stands for hyper text transfer protocol. It is  a set of rules governing the transfer of information on the world wide web. This information can be in the from of text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files. http defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what action web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands. Any web server machine contains, in addition to the web pages files it can serve, a program that is designed to wait for http requests, and handle them when they arrive. For example, a web browser initiates a request to a server, and the server sends a response has been completed, either the browser or the server may terminate the connection, or the browser can send another request. To put it a nutshell, http is a protocol or set of rules that acts as the go-between for internet users.

Internet society

The internet society was founded in 1992, and has offices in Washington and Geneva, its purpose is to provide information and education about the internet, and  to maintain certain standards on the internet.

WWW different from the internet

The WWW, or the world wide web, is a huge collection of documents stored in computers around the world. These millions of documents are known as web pages. A collection of document run by one person or organization is called a website. A computer with one or more websites is known as a host or server.

The WWW differs from the internet in that the internet refers to all the interconnected national networks, while the ‘world wide web’ is just one of these networks. However , the WWW is so vast and widespread that is often confused with being the same as the internet.

Home page

When you visit a website, the first page that appears on your monitor is the home page of that site. The home page acts as the entry point for the site.

LAN and WAN

LAN and WAN are terms used in connection with computer networks. When all the computers in a small area such as building are connected, the network is called a Local Area Network or LAN. When a network stretches across a large area like a city or a country, it is called a wild Area Network or WAN. A WAN is not restricted to a geographical location, and connects several LANs. The technology is high speed, and is relatively expansive. The internet is an example of a world wild public WAN.

WLAN

The term WLAN stands for wireless Local Area Network. This means that the computers are connected, not through telephone wires or cables, but through wireless signals. WLAN uses radio waves for communication between computers. A central transmitting and receiving station called the router, controls the individual computers on the network. WLAN can be used for both private networks, and internal company networks.

internet developed

The beginnings of the internet can be traced to the US. Department of Defense’s plan to create a wide area network that would allow different computers running various operating system to share information between them. The network, established in 1969, was known as the ARPANet. ARPANET’s development created a single base for different data transmission mechanism, which in 1973, become known as the internet.

THE INTERNET

NETWORKING

When a group of computers are linked together so that they can share information and resources, it is called computer networking. The computers are connected by cables, and each network has a hub where all the cables on the network come together.

               Networking makes it possible to share files or peripherals, such as printer. For example, when the computers in an office are networked, file and printers can be shared by everyone. To set up a network you will need a gateway or router for the different computers to be connected. The internet is an excellent example of networking.

An Internet Cafe

INTERNET

The internet is the largest computer network in the world. It links millions of smaller networks which are connected to each other by phone lines, cables, or wireless connection. All of these computers in this vast network share a language the language of the internet. Not all computers are connected to the internet, it can help you to get information from other computers, send messages to a friend who lives far away, or do lots of other amazing things like hear a song, or see a famous painting. This is possible because when you log on to internet, you are given access to the other computers that are also connected.

                                                                  Web Address

A web address is a unique address that allows people to find your site amongst the millions of others on the worldwide web. It gives your site an identity that sets it apart from other websites.