Contributions of Muslim Scientists to Physics

Thursday, 15 July 2010

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Written by Islamstory

Introduction

Similar to all sciences that progressed and developed across the passage of nations and civilizations, the natural sciences of Muslims commenced by relying on the publications of the Greeks who drew on mere philosophy in their attempt to understand nature without resorting to experimentation. However, Muslim scientists spared no efforts to develop this basis; they excelled in physics in an unprecedentedly subtle and intelligent fashion to the extent that they seemed to establish a new science. For example, they made physics rely on experimentation and induction rather than on philosophy, speculations, or mere thoughts.   

Accordingly, they came up with new theories and innovative research, such as the laws of motion, water laws, laws of gravitation. Similarly, they investigated the specific gravity of minerals and liquids, and managed to measure the specific gravity of liquids, which is considered an uneasy task nowadays in spite of all the sophisticated means.

At the beginning, Muslims relied on the publications of their predecessors, such as the book entitled Nature by Aristoteles in which he dealt with kinetics and the books of Archimedes which contained information on the floating bodies in water and the specific gravity of some materials. Besides, Muslims depended on the publications of Actaspus, which entailed scientific results the uplifting pump and water clocks, and Heron of Alexandria[1] who tackled the pulley, the wheel and the law of work[2] . Muslim scientists spared no efforts to develop the physics- related theories and thoughts of their predecessors; they managed to introduce experimentation, which is seen as the main pillar of physics.

Development of Acoustics by Muslim Scientists

Muslim scientists studied acoustics, its origin and its transfer. They were the first to realize that sounds are effected by the bodies that cause them and that these sounds transfer in the air in the form of circular waves. Muslim scientists were also the first to classify sounds into different types; they explained that the sounds of animals differ according to the length of their necks, the width of their throats and the structure of their larynx. Muslim scientists were the first to interpret the occurrence of echo as a reflection of the air which hits a high mountain or wall. The reflection of the echo can not be realized due to the spatial closeness[3].

Development of Science of Liquids by Muslim Scientists

As for the science of liquids, Muslim scientists wrote specialized chapters on the way the specific gravity was measured; they innovated various method to know it and came up with the density of some elements. It is worth of note that their measurements were accurate and sometimes they were more or less similar to the current measurements[4].

Muslim Scientists in Physics

Abual-Rihan Al-Beruni

Abual-Rihan Al-Beruni is a renowned physicist, who determined the specific density of (18) types of precious stones. He set the rule which stated that the specific density of a body suits the volume of the water which makes it move…. He also interpreted the exit of water from geysers and artesian wells in light of the theory of communicating vessels[5].

Abul Fath Al-Khazni

Al-Khazni[6] was a peerless physicist, particularly in relation with (dynamics) and hydrostatics to the extent that the successive researchers have be startled. His theories have been still studied in the field on kinetics at schools and universities up till now. Among these theories are the Theory of Obliquity and Inclination and the Theory of Impulse. These two theories played an important role in kinetics. A lot of historians in the field of science regard Al-Khazani the physicist of all physicists. He devoted most of his time to study hydrostatics; he invented an apparatus to determine the specific gravity of liquids. He further studied the issue of resistance the body faced when it got into water. Al-Khazani utilized the same apparatus used by his great master Abul Rihan Al-Beruni to determine the specific gravity of some solid and liquid materials. The measurements of Al-Khazani were so accurate that they startled his contemporaries and successors[7].     

In his article, mentioned in the glossary on prominent figures in sciences, Robert Hal discussed how Al-Khazini discovered the density of solid and liquid bodies and his invention of a balance for the  measurement of bodies in air and in water. This balance had five propellers, each moves on a graded arm. In their book , entitled Readings in the History of Sciences for Arabs (Kiraat in tarikh al-ulum 'ind al-arab), both Hamid Morani and Abdel Haleem,  Montasser pointed out that »Al-Khazini preceded  Torricelli when referring to the material and weight of air; Al-Khazini pointed out that air had weight and power to lift things like air, adding that the weight of the object in the air weighs less than its actual weight and its reduced weight depends on the density of air. It is worth of note that these studies paved the way for the inventions of the barometer (pressure measurement), air vacuums and pumps among others. Accordingly, Al-Khazini excelled  Torricelli, Pascal[8], and Boyle[9], among others«[10].

Laws of motion

When considering the laws of motion among the research in physics, Muslim scientists were the first to discover these law as follows:

Laws of motion

The importance of the laws of motion lies in the fact that they are regarded as the mainstay of the contemporary civilization. For example, the sciences of mobile machinery nowadays starting from the car, the train, the plane, the space rockets, and transatlantic rockets, among others rely on these laws. They have assisted man to invade the outer space and to land on the surface of the moon. Moreover, they are deemed the basis for all physical sciences which depend on motion. Optics is the motion of light, sound is the motion of light waves, and electricity if the motion of electrons…etc.  

Muslim scientists and the discovery of the three laws of motion

It is well known in the east and the west that these laws had been discovered by the English scientist Isaac Newton since he published his book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (usually called the Principia).

This fact known in the whole world and in all scientific references, including the Muslim school of course, remained till the beginning of the twentieth century when a group of contemporary physicists, most prominent among them were Professor Mostafa Nazif, Professor of Physics, Professor Galal Shawki, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Professor Abdullah Al-Defa', Professor of Mathematics investigated these laws. They checked the available body of Islamic manuscripts in this field and came up with the fact that Muslim scientists were the first to discover these laws. All what Newton did was to collect what had been written on these laws and formulated them in a mathematical form.

Setting prejudice and mere theoretical speech aside, the efforts of Muslim scientists are crystal clear. They are documented in their manuscripts which had been written seven centuries before the birth of Newton. Let's refer to these texts and judge:

The first law of motion: The first law of motion in physics says that if the total powers that affect an object are zero, this object will remain motionless. Similarly, a mobile object remains with its constant speed state unless it finds any power that affects it, such as the friction powers. This was mentioned in Newton's mathematical statement when he said "In the absence of force, a body either is at rest or moves in a straight line with constant speed".

When it comes to Muslim scientists and their role in this field,  Avicenna in his book Insinuations and Notices (Isharat wa Tanbihat) stated the same law in his own words "You know if the object is left unaffected by external influence, it remains as it is".  

It is clear that the previous statement of Avicenna regarding the first law of motion excelled that of Isaac Newton who appeared six centuries later. In this statement Avicenna asserts that the object remains at rest or at move with constant speed in a straight line unless external power influences it. That is to say that Avicenna was the first to discover the first law of motion.

Second law of motion: The second law of motion links the total powers affecting an object and the increase of its speed, which is known as speed and this speed is in proportion with the volume of the power and has its same direction.

According to Newton's mathematical formulation, he stated that " A body experiencing a force F experiences an acceleration a related to F by F = ma, where m is the mass of the body. Alternatively, force is proportional to the time derivative of momentum".

When it comes to Muslims, Hebattullah bin Malaka Al-Baghdadi (480-560 A.H./ 1087-1164AD) stated in his book The Considered in Wisdom (Al-Moatabar fil Hekma)  what means that " The strongest power moves fast and takes a short time. The stronger the power, the faster the power, and the shorter the time. If the power does not decrease, the speed does not decrease, either". In chapter fourteen entitled the Vacuum, he pointed out that "The faster the speed, the stronger the power. The stronger the power that pushes the object, the faster the speed of the object at move, and the shorter the time spent for covering the distance". This is exactly what Newton mathematically formulated and named the second law of motion.

Third law of motion: The third law of motion means that if two objects interact, the force the first object practices on the second object is called the power of the action, which is equal to the force the second object practices on the first object, but it holds the opposite direction. This power is called "the force of the reaction". Newton mathematically formulated this law as follows: "Every action has a reaction which is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction".

Earlier than Newton, Abul Barakat Hebattullah bin Malaka stated in his book, The Considered in Wisdom (Al-Moatabar fil Hekma) that "In the wrestling arena, everyone has a force practiced against the other. If one of them retreated, this does not mean that his power disappears, but this retreated power still exists, because without it the second one would not need it to influence the first one".  

The same meaning has been reiterated in the writings of Imam Fakhr El-Din Al-Razi[11] in his book The Eastern Disciplines in Theology and Natural Sciences (Al-Mabaheth Al-Mashrikayyah fi Illm Al-Illaheyyat wa Al-Tabi'yyat). He pointed out that "the circle pulled by two equal forces until it stops in the middle, it is taken for granted that each forces has practiced an action that obstructs the other".

The same concept has been asserted by Ibn Al-Hayytham in his book, The Scenes (Al-Manather). He pointed out that "The moving object is encountered by an obstruction, and if this forces remains, this moving object retreats in the opposite direction in the same speed practiced by the first object and according to the power of obstruction".

It is vivid clear that all what has been mentioned by Muslim scientists in these texts is the origin of the third law of motion, which was formulated by Newton after he had taken its content!

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