Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
ARYA BHATTA
Aryabhatta (476-550 A.D.) was born in Patliputra in Magadha, modern Patna in Bihar. Many are of the view that he was born in the south of India especially Kerala and lived in Magadha at the time of the Gupta rulers; time which is known as the golden age of India. There is no evidence that he was born outside Patliputra and traveled to Magadha, the centre of education and learning for his studies where he even set up a coaching centre. His first name "Arya" is hardly a south Indian name while "Bhatt" (or Bhatta) is a typical north Indian name even found today specially among the "Bania" (or trader) community.
Whatever this origin, it cannot be argued that he lived in Patliputra where he wrote his famous treatise the "Aryabhatta-siddhanta" but more famously the "Aryabhatiya", the only work to have survived. It contains mathematical and astronomical theories that have been revealed to be quite accurate in modern mathematics. For instance he wrote that if 4 is added to 100 and then multiplied by 8 then added to 62,000 then divided by 20,000 the answer will be equal to the circumference of a circle of diameter twenty thousand. This calculates to 3.1416 close to the actual value Pi (3.14159). But his greatest contribution has to be zero. His other works include algebra, arithmetic, trigonometry, quadratic equations and the sine table.
albert einstien
ALBERT EINSTIEN
Born in 1879, Albert Einstein is known today for his incredible mathematical ability and… well, his wild hair. But more important than the physical attributes of his cranium, is the fantastic information which it provided. He will probably always be remembered as the greatest mathematical genius of the modern world. Honors he has received for his works include the Nobel Prize, which he was awarded in 1921, the Royal Society Copley Medal, which he was awarded in 1925, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1921, and he became an AMS Gibbs Lecturer in 1934. He also was a very vocal advocate against nuclear weapons, and spoke out for international peace. Fittingly, a letter asking that his name be put on a manifesto urging all nations to give up their nuclear weapons, was the last he wrote before his death in 1955.
Born in 1879, Albert Einstein is known today for his incredible mathematical ability and… well, his wild hair. But more important than the physical attributes of his cranium, is the fantastic information which it provided. He will probably always be remembered as the greatest mathematical genius of the modern world. Honors he has received for his works include the Nobel Prize, which he was awarded in 1921, the Royal Society Copley Medal, which he was awarded in 1925, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1921, and he became an AMS Gibbs Lecturer in 1934. He also was a very vocal advocate against nuclear weapons, and spoke out for international peace. Fittingly, a letter asking that his name be put on a manifesto urging all nations to give up their nuclear weapons, was the last he wrote before his death in 1955.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
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