History of Indian Science and Technology Quiz (5 Questions)

Seamless Metal Globe

The first seamless celestial globe was made in Kashmir by Ali Kashmiri Ibn Luqman during the reign of Emperor Akbar.

Later mughal metallurgists used the method of lost-wax casting to make twenty other globe masterpieces.

Before the rediscovery of these globes in the 1980s, modern metallurgists believed that it was technically impossible to produce metal globes without any seams, even with modern technology.

In the largest painting to have emerged from the Mughal period, emperor Jahangir is seen holding a globe in his right palm.

It is believed that this globe was constructed by the metallurgist Muhammad Salih Thattawi.

He was famed for the impossible feat of constructing seamless hollow spheres, leaving no tell-tale cavity or crease from its making.

History of Shipbuilding in India

India's maritime history predates the birth of western civilization.

Navigation, as a science originated during the Indus valley civilization some 5000 years ago.

The world's first tidal dock was built at Lothal around 2300 BC.

The word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Navgath'.

The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nou’.

Chandragupta Maurya (4th century BC) had an entire state department for sailing activities and appointed Navadhyaksha (Sailing Superintendent) for the same.

Yukti Kalpa Taru

Yukti kalpa taru is an 11th century treatise written by Bhoja Narpati.

The construction of ancient ships and boats is vividly described in this treatise, which gives a technocratic exposition on the technique of shipbuilding.

It sets forth minute details about the various types of ships, their sizes, the materials from which they were built.

The technology of ship building was a hereditary profession passing from father to son and was a monopoly of a particular caste of people.

The different type of woods used for shipbuilding were matthi, sagouy, teak, honne, undi and hebbals.

The Yukti Kalpa Taru also gives an elaborate classification of ships based on their size.

The treatise also gives elaborate directions for decorating and furnishing the ships for making them comfortable for passengers.

Even a sextant was used for navigation and was called Vruttashanga-Bhaga.

But what is more surprising is that even a mariner's compass called Maccha-Yantra was used by Indian navigators nearly 1500 to 2000 years ago.

India was a navigational Giant, having large ships and industries that built such large ships. Vasco Da Gama himself wrote in his log book that Indian ships were ten times larger than European ships.

Wootz Steel

A pioneering steel alloy matrix developed in India, Wootz steel was the strongest crucible steel characterized by a pattern of bands.

First produced in 6th century BC, by the Tamils of the Chera Dynasty, this finest steel of the ancient world was made by heating black magnetite ore in the presence of carbon in a sealed clay crucible kept inside a charcoal furnace.

Wootz Steel manufactured in India was highly-prized across several regions of the world.

It was used to make the world famous Damascus swords.

This early steel-making method employed a unique wind furnace, driven by the monsoon winds.

Sushruta (c. 600 BCE) - "The founding father of surgery"

His specialty was rhinoplasty, the reconstruction of the nose. Even today, rhinoplasty described by Sushruta in 600 BC is referred to as the Indian flap and he is known as the originator of plastic surgery.

The first cataract surgery is said to have been performed by Sushruta.

To remove the cataract from the eyes, he used a curved needle, Jabamukhi Salaka, to loosen the lens and push the cataract out of the field of vision.

Sushruta samhita gives detailed procedures for making incisions, probing, extraction of foreign bodies, tooth extraction, hernia surgery, caesarian section, fracture management, fitting of prosthetics (artificial limbs).

In the field of mathematics, the ancient Indians made three distinct contributions:

1⃣ the notation system

2⃣ the decimal system

3⃣ the use of zero

The earliest epigraphic evidence for the use of the decimal system is in the beginning of the 5th century AD.

Little needs to be written about the mathematical digit ‘zero’, one of the most important inventions of all time.

Mathematician Aryabhatta was the first person to create a symbol for zero and it was through his efforts that mathematical operations like addition and subtraction started using the digit, zero.

The concept of zero and its integration into the place-value system also enabled one to write numbers, no matter how large, by using only ten symbols.

Notation system

Indians, as early as 500 BCE, had devised a system of different symbols for every number from one to nine. This notation system was adopted by the Arabs who called it the hind numerals.

Centuries later, this notation system was adopted by the western world who called them the Arabic numerals as it reached them through the Arab traders.

Decimal System

India gave the ingenious method of expressing all numbers by means of ten symbols – the decimal system.

In this system, each symbol received a value of position as well as an absolute value.

The simplicity of the decimal system, facilitated calculation and made the use of arithmetic in practical inventions much faster and easier.