Goodbye Le Grand K

All of us had a brush with scientific metrology in our high school physics curriculum. Most of us may recall that there are seven fundamental physical variables viz., mass, length, time, temperature, current, luminance and amount of substance.  Their corresponding units of measurements are kilogram, meter, second, Kelvin, Ampere, candela and mole. All measurements of all types are based on one or more of these independent units. Two supplemental independent units radian and stradian are also recognized internationally, both dealing with angular measurements. All around the world metrologists are trying to represent the seven base units in terms of constants of nature such as velocity of light in vacuum and the  Planck’s constant. It is important therefore to have reliable and accurate measurements which are agreed and accepted by the relevant authorities worldwide.

Every year, May 20 is celebrated as World Metrology Day to commemorate the signing of the Meter Convention in 1875. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) at Paris was founded as an outcome of this treaty. It is the apex body responsible for scientific metrology. Among other responsibilities, it is the custodian of  Le Grand K or the International Prototype Kilogram (IPK)  a globally valid standard of measuring mass or weight. Standards are objects or ideas that are designated as being authoritative for some accepted reason. Whatever value they possess, is useful for comparison to unknowns for establishing an assigned value based on the standard. The design of this comparison process for measurements is metrology. Metrology is an old science, which has evolved over many centuries.  The earliest systems of weights and measures were based on human morphology and naturally occurring substances. Consequently, these units of measurement varied from place to place. Metrologists are therefore continuously involved in the development of new measurement techniques, instrumentation and procedures, to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for greater accuracy, increased reliability and rapidity of measurements. Although standardization of weights and measures has been a goal of social and economic advance since very early times, it was not until the 18th century that there was a unified system of measurement. The execution of measurement comparisons for the purpose of establishing the relationship between a standard and some other measuring device is known as calibration. The ideal standard is independently reproducible without uncertainty.   Metrology is not, however, exclusively the domain of scientists. It is something of vital importance to all of us. Our daily grocery and vegetable purchase is impossible without metrology. The International Prototype Kilogram ensures that wherever we are in the world one kilogram actually weighs one kilogram. Every country maintains its own metrology system. The National Physical Laboratory, India is the custodian of National Prototype of the Kilogram, copy No. 57 (NPK-57), which was provided by the BIPM in 1958 after its first calibration in 1955. The NPK-57 has been recalibrated in 1985, 1992, 2002 & 2012 so far at the BIPM. It is served as primary standard in India. The mass value of NPK-57 is disseminated to NPL mass standards from 1 mg to 2,000 kg, solid density standards and other derived parameters.

Astronomical Instruments in SPS Museum Srinagar

Heritage week is celebrated throughout world to conserve and appreciate ones history and culture. The department of Archives, archeology  and museums is also celebrating heritage week from 19-25 November by public display of rare manuscripts and medieval astronomical instruments like astrolabe and celestial globe. There are four astrolabes and one celestial globe on display in SPS museum during heritage week. Three of  the astrolabes have Sanskrit inscriptions and the only Indo-  Persian astrolabe is most elaborate. It is crafted by Ḍiyā al-Dīn Muḥammad  of prolific Allahdad family of Lahore in the year 1666 CE. All Sanskrit Astrolabes have been crafted by another prolific metallurgist Lala Bullohmal Lahori although they are not signed by him. The only celestial globe on display has also been crafted by  Lala Bullohmal Lahori. All these instruments have been crafted of brass of various compositions. The SPS museum possess few more traditional astronomical instrument like wooden celestial globe, a metallic gazetteer and a  wooden mater of an astrolabe. There are no information about these instruments in the museum such as from where and when they have been accessed. However several International researchers have studied these or similar instruments and catalogued few of them. Three of the instruments in SPS museum's collection are  unique and rare.

The astrolabe is an ancient astronomical instrument/ analogue computer. Astrolabe is a very versatile  instrument. It was first designed by Greeks to measure the altitude of a heavenly body. It was used to ascertain position of celestial bodies like Sun, Moon, planets and stars in the sky. It was also used for measuring height and distances in land surveys. It can also be used to simulate the motion of heavenly bodies at any locality and time. In fact it can also be used to measure time. The design, manufacture and applications of astrolabes were improved by Arabs in middle ages. It was used to calculate the Qibla and to find the times for Salah.

Several types of astrolabes have been made since antiquity. The most popular type is the planispheric astrolabe, on which the celestial sphere is projected onto the plane of the equator. A typical astrolabe was made of brass and was about 6-10 inches in diameter, although much larger and smaller ones were also made. An astrolabe consists of a disk, called the mater (mother), which is deep enough to hold one or more flat plates called tympans, or climates. A tympan is made for a specific latitude and is engraved with a stereographic projection of circles denoting azimuth and altitude and representing the portion of the celestial sphere above the local horizon. The rim of the mater is typically graduated into hours of time, degrees of arc. Above the mater and tympan, the rete or ankabut, a framework bearing a projection of the ecliptic plane and several pointers indicating the positions of the brightest stars, is free to rotate. The rete, representing the sky, functions as a star chart. When it is rotated, the stars and the ecliptic move over the projection of the coordinates on the tympan. One complete rotation corresponds to the passage of a day. On the back of the mater there is often engraved a number of scales that are useful in the astrolabe's various applications; these vary from designer to designer, but might include curves for time conversions, a calendar for converting the day of the month to the sun's position on the ecliptic, trigonometric scales, and a graduation of 360 degrees around the back edge. The alidade is attached to the back face. When the astrolabe is held vertically, the alidade can be rotated and the Sun or a star sighted along its length, so that its altitude in degrees can be read from the graduated edge of the astrolabe. The concept of astrolabe was introduced in India by noted polymath Alberuni through his writings. The medieval rulers Firoz Shah Tughlaq and Humayun patronized astronomy. During Mughal period some finest astrolabes were manufactured in Lahore. The Indo persian astrolabe in SPS museum has been designed and crafted in Lahore. It consists of  body with kursī shackle and ring, rete for 51 stars, 10 plates, alidade, pin and washer. There are ten plates serving the latitudes 11° to 45° at 2° intervals and the ecliptic coordinates and multiple horizons. Of the three Sanskrit astrolabes in the possession of SPS museum one is ordinary in the sense that similar astrolabe is extant in Rampur Raza library also. The two astrolabes which have solid retes are unique. No such sample is extant anywhere except SPS museum. Noted Scholar SR Sarma has attributed these two to Lala Bulhomal Lahori.

A celestial globe is a three dimensional model of the sky. It was mostly used for  pedagogical purpose rather than an observational instrument like astrolabe. The celestial globe has the advantage of simplicity of design and the ability to function at any geographic location. A hollow celestial globe can either be made in two hemispheres and joined or they can be casted seamlessly in single piece using lost wax technique. The earliest confirmed date for the manufacture of a seamless cast globe is 1589-90 CE, when a globe made by 'Ali Kashmirl ibn Luqman' was produced. The technology of  casting of seamless celestial globe was transferred from Kashmir to Lahore and Allahdad family and Lala Bulhomal also practiced the same technology. There are about 20 extant globes in the world crafted using the technique of lost wax. Even present day copper metallurgists of Kashmir use similar wax inside their copper bowls to provide rigidity while carving designs.

There are no constellation figures on the  globe at SPS museum,  the positions of some prominent stars like Suhel are marked with inlaid silver nails. Unlike in other globes by Bulhomal, there are no meridian circles here. The globe is mounted on a three-legged stand. The stand consists of an ornate horizontal ring, a meridian ring and a zenith ring without a crown. Both the horizontal and meridian rings are graduated in 1° and 6° and labelled in Abjad notation. An axis passing through the two celestial poles on the globe is pivoted to the meridian ring in the stand. The curved legs are decorated with a leaf pattern.

SPS museum also possess a unique Safvid qibla indicator. On the two outer and the two inner side of the qibla indicator, the geographic information  is engraved in  annular circles, carrying the names, longitudes and latitudes of many localities arranged according 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 degree lattitudes, the numbers starting from the equator and reaching to the tropics. There is an urgent need to do a scientific study of all these astronomical instruments to know the history of science in this region.

Longest Lunar Eclipse

An spectacular lunar eclipse will be taking place during the night of 27-28 July.  If weather permits, the entire cosmic event will be visible from Srinagar and other parts of the state. The penumbral eclipse will begin at quarter to eleven in night and end after Fajr, making it longest eclipse of the century.  The total eclipse will begin at quarter past one and end at quarter to three.  In the night of the eclipse, full moon is also at its farthest from the earth (Apogee) so it will look relatively smaller in the sky hence it is called micro moon in contrast to supermoon when it appears largest.

 A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth so that the Earth blocks the Sun's rays from striking the Moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur during the night of a full moon. It might be expected that during every full moon  the Earth's shadow will fall on the Moon, causing a lunar eclipse.  Lunar eclipses are not observed every month because the plane of the Moon's orbit around the Earth is tilted by about five degrees with respect to the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun. Thus, when a full moons occurs, the Moon usually lies to the north or south of a direct line through the Earth and Sun. Although a lunar eclipse can only occur when the Moon is  full, it must also be positioned very near the intersection of Earth's orbital plane about the Sun and the Moon's orbital plane about the Earth that is, at one of its nodes.

The shadow of the Earth can be divided into two distinctive parts: the umbra and penumbra. Within the umbra, there is no direct solar radiation. Due to the Sun’s large angular size, solar light is only partially blocked in the outer portion of the Earth’s shadow or penumbra. A penumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s penumbra. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a portion of the Moon enters the umbra. When the Moon travels completely into the Earth’s umbra, one observes a total lunar eclipse.

Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a certain relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth. A lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for only a few minutes at any given place, due to the smaller size of the moon's shadow.

Since moon is a non luminous body, lunar eclipses (unlike Solar Eclipses) are completely safe to observe with the naked eye - no special equipment or filters are needed. Sometimes a Total Lunar Eclipse is best viewed without any optical aid, and just lying under the stars watching the change as the Moon first gets slightly darker (penumbral phase), then starts to get eaten away (partial phase), finally turning deep red or copper coloured as it enters totality. During a total lunar eclipse, the sun’s direct light is blocked by the earth and does not reach the moon. A small amount of the sunlight that passes through earth’s atmosphere, however, is refracted or “bent” towards the moon by the atmosphere and is reflected towards us on earth by the moon. Particles in the atmosphere also preferentially scatter away the bluer light of shorter wavelengths and only the redder light that has relatively longer wavelengths gets through, similar to the sunlight we see at sunset and sunrise. This redder light reaches the moon because of the bending (refraction). Therefore the moon appears copper-coloured during a total lunar eclipse. The exact colour will depend on the nature and quantity of the dust particles, water droplets and aerosols present in the earth’s atmosphere at that time. Hence it is an indicator of earths atmospheric pollution!

For sky-watchers there is another treat in the intervening night of 27-28 July. The red planet Mars will be aligned with Earth and Sun. Mars will be on the opposite side of the Sun and Earth and it will be visible throughout night. It can be seen in the vicinity of eclipsed moon. In fact Jupiter and Saturn will also be clearly visible during the night. It is summer time hence night picnics may be organized by all science and nature lovers in their neighbourhood. All astro-photographers, may aim their cameras towards sky. The eclipse is a unique opportunity to appreciate,  admire and celebrate the beauty and inspiration of this celestial experience.

Copper Red Super Moon

An spectacular lunar eclipse will be taking place at moon rise on Wednesday, January 31. The total lunar eclipse of 31 January 2018 will occur during a “supermoon”, i.e., a full moon that coincides with perigee of the moon (the closest distance that the moon comes to earth during its orbit around the earth). The “super-moon” appears about 14% larger than a regular full moon. Another coincidence is that the full moon of 31 January is also talked of as a “blue moon” in the English media - a blue moon is said to occur when two full moons occur in the same calendar month. Also, this supermoon is the third in a trilogy of super moons, following those of 3 December 2017 and 1 January 2018.

 It will be visible in  Jammu and Kashmir between 6:20 pm up to 8 pm.   I am fascinated by moon since my childhood. When I was a youngster my father brought for me a popular science book in Urdu ‘Nau Saiyare Ektis Chand’. Through this book I came to know that moon is a non luminous body and it shines by reflecting the solar light. I was so upset by this fact that I hid the book lest others may know about the truth that moon does not have its own light. I was naïve like any other child of my age.

 A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth so that the Earth blocks the Sun's rays from striking the Moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur during the night of a full moon. It might be expected that during every full moon  the Earth's shadow will fall on the Moon, causing a lunar eclipse.  Lunar eclipses are not observed every month because the plane of the Moon's orbit around the Earth is tilted by about five degrees with respect to the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun. Thus, when a full moons occurs, the Moon usually lies to the north or south of a direct line through the Earth and Sun. Although a lunar eclipse can only occur when the Moon is  full, it must also be positioned very near the intersection of Earth's orbital plane about the Sun and the Moon's orbital plane about the Earth that is, at one of its nodes.

The shadow of the Earth can be divided into two distinctive parts: the umbra and penumbra. Within the umbra, there is no direct solar radiation. Due to the Sun’s large angular size, solar light is only partially blocked in the outer portion of the Earth’s shadow or penumbra. A penumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s penumbra. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a portion of the Moon enters the umbra. When the Moon travels completely into the Earth’s umbra, one observes a total lunar eclipse.

Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a certain relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth. A lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for only a few minutes at any given place, due to the smaller size of the moon's shadow.

Since moon is a non luminous body, lunar eclipses (unlike Solar Eclipses) are completely safe to observe with the naked eye - no special equipment or filters are needed. Sometimes a Total Lunar Eclipse is best viewed without any optical aid, and just lying under the stars watching the change as the Moon first gets slightly darker (penumbral phase), then starts to get eaten away (partial phase), finally turning deep red or copper coloured as it enters totality. During a total lunar eclipse, the sun’s direct light is blocked by the earth and does not reach the moon. A small amount of the sunlight that passes through earth’s atmosphere, however, is refracted or “bent” towards the moon by the atmosphere and is reflected towards us on earth by the moon. Particles in the atmosphere also preferentially scatter away the bluer light of shorter wavelengths and only the redder light that has relatively longer wavelengths gets through, similar to the sunlight we see at sunset and sunrise. This redder light reaches the moon because of the bending (refraction). Therefore the moon appears copper-coloured during a total lunar eclipse. The exact colour will depend on the nature and quantity of the dust particles, water droplets and aerosols present in the earth’s atmosphere at that time. Hence it is an indicator of earths atmospheric pollution!

The eclipse is a unique opportunity to admire and celebrate the beauty and inspiration of this celestial experience. It is also preferable to offer two rak’aat Salate Khusoof.

Contribution of Al Haytham to science and Scientific Method

The year 2015 was celebrated as the International year of light and light based technologies. One among its many objectives, was to celebrate the legacy of Ibn AlHaytham the Arab polymath. The year 2015 actually marks the 1000th anniversary since the appearance of the remarkable seven volume treatise on optics Kitab al-Manazir written by Ibn al Haytham. Born around a thousand years ago in Iraq, AlHasan Ibn alHaytham was a pioneering scientific thinker who made important contributions to the understanding of vision, optics and light. Ibn alHaytham, started not only the traditional theme of optical research but also new ones such as meteorological optics, catoptrics, burning mirrors, dioptrics, the burning sphere and physical optics. Apart from optics Ibn al-Haytham made significant advances in mathematics and astronomy.

His work on optics was characterised by a strong emphasis on carefully designed experiments to test theories and hypotheses. His methodology of investigation using experiment to verify theory is the precursor of the modern scientific method. Ibn alHaytham's work was remarkable for its emphasis on proof and evidence. Ibn alHaytham articulated some remarkably sophisticated statements on the practice of science and the growth of scientific knowledge. In a critical treatise ‘AlShukūk ‛alā Batlamyūs’ he asserts that "Truth is sought for itselfbut the truths are immersed in uncertainties and the scientific authorities are not immune from error…. Nor is human nature itself". Therefore, the seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and deficiency. Thus the duty of the man who investigates the writings of scientists is to make himself an enemy of all that he reads and applying his mind to the core and margins of its content, attack it from every side. He should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it, so that he may avoid falling into either prejudice or leniency. This is what the modern scientific method is all about. Latin translations of some of his works have influenced important Medieval and European Renaissance thinkers like Roger Bacon, René Descartes and Christian Huygens, who knew him as Alhazen.

Ibn alHaytham was born in the year 965 in Basra, and died in about 1040 in Cairo. During his years in Egypt he composed one of his most celebrated works, the Kitab al-Manazir. Ibn al Haytham undertook a systematic critique of all previous ideas about vision in order to demonstrate by both reason and experiment that light was a crucial and independent part of the visual process. He concluded that vision takes place when a light ray issued from a luminous source or reflected from a non luminous body enters the eye. Through his studies of earlier work by Galen and others, he gave names to several parts of the eye, such as the lens, the retina and the cornea. In fact the word lens comes from the Latin translation of the term ‘Adsa’ used by Ibn alHaytham because a doubleconvex lens is lentil (Masur Daal) shaped. The genus of the lentil plant is Lens, and the most commonly eaten species is Lens culinaris. Ibn alHaytham explained the nature of light and vision, using a dark chamber or the concept of pinhole camera. Alhazen offered an explanation of the Moon illusion. He also carried out the first experiments on the dispersion of light into its constituent colours and studied shadows, rainbows and eclipses; and by observing the way sunlight diffracted through the atmosphere, he was able to work out a rather good estimate for the height of the atmosphere, which he found to be around 100 km.

His other extant books related to the subject of light include: A Discourse on Light (al Daw), The Light of the Moon (Ḍawʾ al-qamar), The Light of the Stars, The Rainbow and the Halo (al-Hāla wa qaws quzaḥ), Spherical Burning Mirrors, Parabolic Burning Mirrors, The Burning Sphere, The Shape of the Eclipse (Ṣūrat al-kusūf) and the Formation of Shadows .

The crater Alhazen on the Moon is named in his honour, as is the asteroid 59239 Alhazen.

My tryst with Libraries

The general perception of libraries is as repository of learning resources like manuscripts, books, periodicals, journals, letters, microfilms and CDs. There are libraries of all kinds such as public libraries, academic libraries or specific libraries such as Gandhi Sangrahalyas which preserves documents related to the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi. There are however libraries which preserve scientific models and instruments as well. As such they become  useful  in understanding the history of development of science, technology and entrepreneurship. In this article my personal quest in understanding the development of astronomy and the subsequent entrepreneurship of crafting astronomical instrument in certain regions of India has been outlined. David Sassoon library of Mumbai is perhaps  a unique library which has been established by entrepreneurs for the promotion of craftsmanship. History of everything particularly science, technology and education fascinates me. Recently I developed interest in ancient astronomical instruments. In that connection I came to know that there are two libraries in India which preserve Astronomical Instruments. A small collection of unique medieval scientific instruments are kept in Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library at Patna. Another  collection of scientific instruments are preserved at Raza Library, Rampur. All these instruments have been catalogued by great Sanskrit scholar R S Sarma. Two years ago I had the opportunity of visiting Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public library in Patna to examine the Astronomical Instruments. While examining the instruments I became interested in history of public libraries. Last year I visited  David Sassoon library and reading room in Mumbai which was initially established as museum of mechanical models and architectural design. 

Raza Library, Rampur was founded by Nawab Faizullah Khan in 1774.  It contains very rare and valuable collection of manuscripts, historical documents, specimens of Islamic calligraphy, miniature paintings, astronomical instruments and rare illustrated works in Arabic and Persian languages besides 80,000 printed books. Rampur's Raza Library also contains printed works in Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Pashto, Tamil and Turkish, and approximately 30,000 printed books  in various other languages. Nawab Faizullah Khan established the library with his personal modest collection kept in the Tosha Khana of his Palace. Successive Nawabs like Ahmad Ali khan,  Muhammad Yusuf  and  Kalbe Ali Khan also enriched the collection. Nawab Mohammad Saeed Khan  created a separate department for the library and shifted the collection to new rooms. The Nawab invited well known calligraphers, illuminators and binders from Kashmir and other parts of India. The Library has now attained an International status of higher studies. There are old art objects and rare astronomical instruments in the library. The oldest instrument of the collection is an Astrolabe made by Siraj Damashqi in 1218. Chronologically the next instrument is a Celestial globe crafted by Muhammad Ibn Jaffar at Kirman. Another astrolabe designed by Ziauddin Muhammad of Lahore and undated  mariner's astrolabe are also very important. There are about 100 rare manuscripts, paintings and astrolabes in the online gallery of library. India post issued a set of four commemorative stamps on 19.6.2009.

The history of David Sassoon Library is very fascinating. In 1847 a few young mechanics working in the Royal Mint and Government Dockyard decided to form an association to promote knowledge and learning. The association's objectives at that time were to set up a library and museum of mechanical models and architectural designs, as well as to organize lectures and discussions on science and technology. Thus was born the Sassoon Mechanic's Institute. In 1863, Sir David Sassoon, a Jewish philanthropist originally from Baghdad and  a leading banker of Mumbai, contributed Rupees sixty thousand  to the government to build a Mechanic's Institute. However, with the stoppage of the annual grant by the Imperial Government, its activities gradually came to a standstill, until the institute was reduced to its present state, namely a library and a reading room. Consequently in March 1938, the Sassoon Mechanics' Institute was rechristened the David Sassoon Library and Reading Room. The library is housed in Venetian Gothic styled structure, completed in 1870.The Library has been listed as a Grade heritage structure as per the Heritage Regulations of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation .The library's main assets are the rare books. Some of the books in the library's treasure are published way back in the year 1798.The Library houses about 40,000 books in English, Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi and is open all 365 days a year from 8 in the morning till 9 at night. India post issued a commemorative stamp in 1998.

Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna was open for the public in October 1891 with 4000 Oriental manuscripts. Maulvi  Khuda Bakhsh donated his entire collection to the nation by a deed of trust. Some of the notable manuscripts are Timur Nama,  Shah Nama, PadshahNama, Diwan-e-Hafiz and Safinatul Auliya, carrying the autograph of Mughal Emperors and princes and the book of Military Accounts of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The library offers several digitized manuscripts in downladable PDF format. It also offers two digitized albums on scientific instruments and Patna Qalam painting. The first album shows all the twelve unique and rare scientific instruments.  These are undoubtedly an important source for the study and reconstruction of science and technology in the pre-Modern period. They also provide an insight into the development of sciences like astronomy, surgery and geography in pre-Modern India. Apart from it the library also has specimens of Mughal paintings, sound recordings, maps, stamps, letters of eminent personality,  calligraphy and book decoration and Arabic and Urdu manuscripts including a page of Quran written on deer skin.  Since 1977 the library has been publishing regularly a multi-lingual research quarterly Khuda Bakhsh Library Journal. India post issued a commemorative stamp on  21.11.1994 which shows an oriental rug of Taj Mahal as motif preserved in the library.

These libraries are result of vision, passion and dedication of some committed people whether Nawabs,  philanthropist, bibliophile or ordinary mechanics. There is not much literature available on history of public libraries in India or their contribution in education entrepreneurship and culture. The scientific instruments preserved at Rampur Raza library and Khuda Bakhskh library are undoubtedly an important source for the study and reconstruction of science and technology in the pre-Modern period. They also provide an insight into the development of sciences like astronomy, surgery and geography in pre-Modern India.  It may be noted that these are the areas of scientific study in which the Islamic world made the most memorable contribution in the medieval ages and that the Indian subcontinent constituted an important centre for such studies, even after the glory of Baghdad, Maghreb and Spain had come to end.  As such, these antiques constitute an essential part of our heritage.  Significantly, Patna was a well-known centre for making sundials in the 19th century. Interestingly, a very large number of  manuscripts in Khuda Bakhsh library  relate to science and mathematics. Studies may be conducted on these aspects.  Case studies may be undertaken on role of David Sassoon library in promotion of indigenous technology, craftsmanship and entrepreneurship in pre independence Mumbai. 

The Directive on the restriction of hazardous substances in electronic goods

We are living in an electronic age. We have e-mail, e-banking, e-business, e-books, e-medicine (telemedicine) and so on. The e-products like laptops and cellular phones have penetrated the society in a big way.  However majority of users of these products are unaware of presence of hazardous chemicals in electronic goods. The Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment was adopted in 2003 by the European Union.  The RoHS-directive, restricts the use of six hazardous materials (viz., lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, PBB and PDBE) in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment.

PBB and PBDE are brominated flame retardants used in several plastics.  BFR release dioxins and furans which are neurotoxins. A long term exposure of these substances may lead to damage of Nervous system, Kidney, Bones, Reproductive System and Endocrine system.

Instead of indulging in innovation and R&D to design out toxic chemicals the electronics companies are busy in selling their hazardous products through aggressive marketing.  Consumers and Ministry of consumer’s affairs seem woefully ignorant of these issues. There is no ‘Jago grahak Jago’ campaign on RoHS directive or its exemption.

However the trend of going green and manufacturing clean products free from hazardous chemicals is slowly picking up. Consumers are becoming more informed and aware. They prefer green and clean products. Green labeling of e-products should be initiated for helping consumer in selection.

Hazardous chemicals should be substituted with safer alternatives. Several companies are launching safer products. Motorola launched BFR free cell phones. In India HCL and Wipro are complying with RoHS directive which promotes phasing out of six deadly substances viz., Pb, Hg, Cr, Cadmium, and two BFRs in e-products.