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... cts such as the Triquetum. Also the Greeks, Ptolomy, came close to trigonometry but it was actually Al Battani who adopted the sine and cosine ratios which made the creation of the astronomical tables much easier. (Ronan 224) Even though the 9 th through the mid 10 th centuries were times of revolutionary improvements, the late 10 th through the early 12 th centuries were just as important. During this time improvements were made on previous discoveries of the Arabs as well as of course the Greeks.
This was very important, because it shows that the Arab empire, unlike the Greeks, welcomed science and, unlike the Hindus, realized its importance. The dawn is here; arise my lovely one, Pour the wine, but slowly, and touch the lute, For those who are here will not stay long, While those departed will never return. Omar Khayyam Gheyas ad Din Abu al Fath Omar Khayyam or Omar Khayyam as he was know to the West was not only a great poet as he is again known to the West, but one of the greatest mathematicians. He improved on Al Khwarizmis algebra (Mason 99) that was written some 350 years before, this was the difference between the Arabs and the peoples that came before them, not that they didnt improve but it wasnt the same the Arabs realized fully what they were doing. But improvements on Al Khwarizmi were only a relatively small part of all his contributions to mathematics. A lot of his work was for a new concept the algebra zation of geometry.
The Greeks made great improvements in geometry but because of a bad number system not a lot in algebra. The Hindus were known for their numbers (algebra). The Arabs before, separated the two, however the separation was by Khayyam. While improving on Al Khwarizmis algebra of quadratic equations he also handled high power equations and represented the equations as figure such as the parabola, ellipse or solid figures like the cube. He also solved simultaneous equations both algebraically and geometrically. (McLeish 149 54) Physics compared to the other sciences was underdeveloped.
The ancients like the Greeks only got some results from philosophy and pure observations of the real world which in a lot of the cases are misleading. Al Haytham or Alhazen as he was known to the West, was the greatest physicist of his time. Even considering his work relatively little improvement was made in this field. Nevertheless it was still science and was valued highly in Arabia. Alhazen couldve studied even more if it wasnt for the disastrous start of his career. He got in big trouble with the Caliph and since the Caliph was rather eccentric and murderous Alhazen proclaimed himself insane and didnt do much until the caliph died, by then Alhazen was By the example of Alhazen we can see how the Arabs sought out science.
To oppose something you dont have to fully know it. However to scientifically oppose something you have to know in depth the thing you oppose to provide correct and sufficient proof. Since physics was underdeveloped Alhazen had to really dig in to the Alhazen's major work was in optics. He opposed the theory of Euclid, Ptolomy and other ancients, that the eye sends out rays of light to view objects. Alhazen held that rays of light came from the object seen, light spreading out spherically from any source.
His experimental study of magnifying glasses he showed that Ptolomy crude law to be true only at small angles. (Mason 99) His major book that talks about these things is simply called Optics. Another physicist al Having made also an important improvement, it wasnt a new discovery, but he wrote a textbook of all physics that was know now anybody that had the will could have studied and understood a least parts of physics. A similar thing was done by ibn Yunis, a prominent astronomer. He summarized the astronomical work that was done in the past two hundred years. (Mason 99) Since science was an important part of the Arabic culture all of these summations The science of chemistry as a separate didnt really exist. However since all science was sought, welcomed and important, work other than Alchemy was done Jabir ibn Khayyam was the most prominent of the Arabic alchemists and it was really his work that gave a start to the science of chemistry. (Ronan 238 39) The greatest of the late advancements was made by Al Kashi.
He calculated the value of &# 61552; to sixteen decimal places and calculated all of the ratios with similar accuracy. This is why his astronomical tables were so extraordinarily accurate. (Ronan 203) What is even more important, He wrote an elementary encyclopedia on practical mathematics for astronomers, surveyors, architects, clerks and merchants. (Ronan 223) Because everything was explained so simply and clearly that all of the people listed could have used it. That is also the reason why it flowed so smoothly to the West, even a simple merchant could have explained something. Among this Al Kashi made a lot of other summaries. He was recognized throughout the Empire, and his death was heavily As time went on the Arabic Empire turned into the Ottoman Empire and science was not important. It was because of the constant conquering and war.
Also it was not entirely the Ottomans, who rejected science willingly, they were partially forced to. By the time of the Ottoman Empire, because of the current flow of Arabic knowledge to the West, the Westerners were educated and because war had to be primary in Arabia gradually became more advanced. However the flow of advancements from Europe to Arabia was not the same as it was from Arabia to the West. Nevertheless the Arabic improvements in science were tremendous and will never be lost.
The Arabs were the first ones to fully realize the sciences importance. They were tolerant to other cultures and not only welcomed the science of them, but sought it out as With all due respect to the numerous and tremendous work with all of the knowledge gained, perhaps the greatest improvement was the introduction of the Hindu numbers. It made everything much easier and smoother. The Arabs during the height of their rule compiled an extraordinary amount of work and advancement of scientific knowledge, the most until very recently. However, as much as the Arabs did, there was and still is much more to be done.
The Arabs strove towards science and so should we, to quote Herbert Simon, a Nobel Prize winner, One finds limits by pushing them. Bibliography: Works Cited. Gliozzi, Mario. Storia Della Fisica.
Translation by E. L. Bernstien Second Volume 1965 MIR Publishing Company, Moscow 1970 Mason, Stephen F. A History of the Sciences. &# 61667; Collier Books, New York 1962 Mcleish, John The Story Of Numbers: How Mathematics Has Shaped Civilization. &# 61667; John McLeish 1991 Resnicoff, H.
L. & Wells Jr. , R. O. Mathematics in Civilization. &# 61667; H. L. Resnicoff & R. O.
Wells 1984 Ronan, Colin A. Science: Its History and Development Among the Worlds Cultures &# 61667; The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited 1982
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Research essay sample on Scientific Improvements Of The Arabic Empire
