Abu Rai-khan Mu-ham-mad al-Bi-ru-ni / 973, the city of Kyat, Khoresm - 1048, Gaz-ni / - a leading scientist of the Middle Ages , author of many-numbers of capital works on history, geo-graphy, philo-logia, ast-ro-no- mii, ma-te-ma-ti-ke, geo-de-zii, mi-ne-ra-logi, far-ma-ko-logi, geo-logi, etc. Al-Bi- ru-no vla-deal almost all-mi on-the-science-mi of its-e-th time-me-no. The post-mortem translation of his work, compiled by his student, took 60 small is-pi-san-ny pages.
Al-Bi-ru-ni-lu-chil shi-ro-something ma-te-ma-ti-ches-something and philo-sophical ob-ra-zo-va-nie. His teacher in Kya-te was you-da-yu-shchy-sya ma-te-ma-tik and ast-ro-nom ibn Iraq. After the capture in 995 of Kya-ta emir-rom Gur-gand-zha and re-no-sa hundred-li-tsy Ho-rez-ma in Gur-ganj al-Bi-ru- He left for Rei, where he worked for al-Khod-jan-di. For that, he worked in Gur-gah-ne at the court of Shams al-Ma'ali Ka-bu-sa, for some reason he was about 1000 years in the sacred til “Chro-no-logia”, then returned to Kho-rezm and worked in Gur-gand-same at the court of ho-rez-m-sha-hov Ali / 997 - 1009 / and Ma-mu-na II. From 1017, yes, after-le for-in-e-va-nia Ho-rez-ma sul-ta-nom Mah-mu-dom Gaz-ne-vi he was you-need-den re-re-go to Gaz-nu, where he worked at the court of sul-ta-na Mah-mu-da and his pre-em-ni-kov Ma-su-da and Mau-du-di. Al-Bi-ru-ni participated in the trips of Mah-mu-da to India, where he lived for several years.
In the very first co-chi-non-nii “Chro-no-logia, or pa-myat-ni-ki mi-nu-shih-ko-le-ny” (1000) al- Bi-ru-ni-took and described all the well-known in his time sis-te-we ka-len-da-rya, using me-nyav-shi-e-sya at different personal peoples of the world, and composed a chrono-lo-gi-chess table of all epochs, na-chi-naya from biblical pat- ri-ar-hov.
In the end in 1030, the labor-de “In-diya, or the Book, containing the explanation of -diy-tsam teachings, accepting-le-mykh ra-zu-mom or rejecting-ha-e-mykh "al-Bi-ru-ni gave de-tal-noe on-uch-but-kri- ti-ches-some description of being, cul-tu-ry and science of Indians, from-lo-lived their re-li-gi-oz-no-fi-lo-sof -sky sis-te-we, to-hundred-precisely-but exactly re-re-lo-alive teaching of the class-si-ches-koy san-khya, te-o-ryu kos-mi-ches- what evolution, teaching about the connection of the soul with the “thin body”, etc. about co-zda-te-le games in chess-ma-you.
Ast-ro-no-mii, the scientist in-sacred over 45 so-chi-non-nii, the main one of them is “Ka-non Mas'uda by ast-ro-no -mii and star-ladies ”, in some-rum with-ve-de-us under-rob-nye ex-pe-ri-men-tal-nye and ma-te-ma-ti-che-do -ka-for-telst-va of all from-la-ha-e-myh in the same way. He looked at the gi-po-te-zu about the movement of the Earth around the Sun; he affirmed the same fiery nature of the Sun and stars, in contrast to dark bodies - the planet, the mobility of stars and their great sizes compared to the Earth, the idea of tya-go-te-niya. Al-Bi-ru-ni co-created the first model of the Earth-li (glo-bus), was able with the help of ma-te-ma-ti-ches-kih races-che-to-ka- to say that the Earth is round and on the other part of the earth there is a ma-te-rik (America) and people live there (later his work on ast-ro-no-mii use-pol-zo-val Ga-li-lei, as os-no-woo and was able to completely prove the form of Earth-li-sha-ra). Al-Bi-ru-ni pro-vo-dil on-blue-de-niya on the building-en-nom on-Na-sa-vi in Ray wall-nom quad-ran-te ra-di-u- catfish 7.5 m, filling them with an accuracy of up to 2 ′. He set-but-wil the angle on-clo-on ek-lip-tee-ki to ek-va-to-ru, calculated the ra-di-us of the Earth, described-sal from me-not -the coloring of the Moon during lunar za-darkness and solar-nech-ko-ro-well during solar-nech-ny za-darkness-ni-yah.
Al-Bi-ru-ni gave a lot of attention to ma-te-ma-ti-ke, especially ben-but three-go-no-met-rii: in-my-know- chi-tel-noy part of “Ka-no-na Mas'uda”, he dedicated to her the co-chi-non-nia “On the definition of de-le-nii chords in a circle when power inscribe-san-noy in the no-th lo-ma-noy line "(here ras-smat-ri-va-et-sya a row of near-above-le-zha-shchy Ar-khi-me- du te-o-rem, not preserved in Greek ru-ko-pi-syah), “On Indian ra-shi-kah” (in this book- ge ob-jug-yes-et-sya so on-zy-va-e-my triple right-vi-lo), “Sphere-ri-ka”, “Book-ga pearl-chu-zhin about flat- Kos-ty spheres ”, etc. In-pro-sam applied ma-te-ma-ti-ki in a sacred way, the trak-tat “Te-ni”, not how much trak-ta-tov about astra-ro-la-bee and other astra-ro-no-mi-ches-kih in-st-ru-men-tah, a number of co-chi-non-nii on geo-de -zii.
In 1038, al-Bi-ru-ni na-pi-sal “Mi-ne-ra-lo-gyu, or the Book-gu of a code for knowing dra-go-tsen-nos-tei ”, in some swarm determine the specific gravity of many mi-ne-ra-lovs and give us sub-robust information about more than five de-sya-ti mi-ne-ra-lah, ru-dah, metal-tal-lah, alloy-wah, etc. He also composed-le-on “Far-ma-kog-no-zia” - books about me-di-tsin-sky le-car-st-wah.
How-to-follow-to-va-tel al-Bi-ru-ni under-cher-ki-val not-about-ho-di-bridge of a thorough verification of knowledge by experience, pro-ti-in-pos-tav-lyaya ex-pe-ri-men-tal-noe knowledge of the mind-spectator-tel-no-mu. From these positions, he kri-ti-ko-val aris-to-te-lev-skuyu and Avicenna-novskaya conception of “es-test-ven-no-go me-s-ta "And ar-gu-men-ta-tion against the su-stu-vo-va-niya is empty-you.
In-my-mo-of-the-th-kind-no-ho-rez-miy-sko-go-language, al-Bi-ru-ni vlad-de-Arabic, Persian, Greek Czech-Kim, Latin-Skim, Turkish-Kim, Syrian-Kim, as well as Yves-ri-tom, San-skrit-tom and Hin-di. This knowledge is self-in-va-whether you-ra-bot-ke im-principles-qi-pov re-re-vo-yes es-test-ven-but-on-learning-ter-mi- but-lo-gies from one language to another. Co-created by al-Bi-ru-ni on the basis of Arabic gra-fi-ki sis-te-ma trans-scripting in many pre-vos-hi-scha-la co-vre -men-nuyu sis-te-mu pe-re-da-chi of Indian words in ur-du.
Interesting fact: al-Bi-ru-ni was dying in full conscience and, after saying goodbye to friends, I asked after-not: “What are you talking about - ko-val me one day about the methods of counting not-true-wed-ing profits? “How can you think about it in such a state?” - he was amazed-len-but he-clicked-zero. "Oh you! - Said the scientist barely audibly. “I think that it’s better to leave this world, knowing the answer to this question, than to get out of this ignorant…”
By ma-te-ri-a-lam: Bul-ga-kov P.G. Life and work Be-ru-ni. Tashkent, "Fan", 1972.
Al-Biruni was born on September 4, 973 in the city of Kyat, the capital of the state of Khorezm. Full name- Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni. The young Al-Biruni received an excellent education from the outstanding astronomer and mathematician Ibn Iraqi. Education included not only mathematics, but also philosophy. He studied, in addition to Khorezmian, nine languages of the East, including Sanskrit and Hindi, as well as Greek and Latin.
Al-Biruni was a man of very broad interests. He studied everything: history and geography, mathematics and astronomy, geodesy and philology, mineralogy and pharmacology - the list could go on. In all these areas, he conducted independent research, wrote 45 works in various disciplines.
Already in the first work devoted to chronology, the scientist collected and analyzed all the calendar systems known at that time and compiled a voluminous chronological table.
Al-Biruni compiled descriptions of medicines known at that time, in a work on mineralogy he described the properties of 50 metals, alloys and minerals. Conducted mathematical research. Developed the theory of translation scientific terms from one language to another...
While working on his main work - "The Canons of Mas'ud on Astronomy and the Stars" - the scientist calculated the radius of the Earth, set the angle of inclination of the ecliptic to the equator, described lunar eclipses with a change in the color of the Moon during them, as well as solar eclipses, having analyzed the nature of the solar corona, expressed the idea of the fiery nature of the stars and the sun, in contrast to the planets.
The indefatigable Al-Biruni visited many cities of the East and even lived for several years in India, where he reached with the campaign of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznevi. The result was an essay on the philosophical systems of India, including the theory of Samkhya, cosmic evolution, and so on. In the same book, the legend that became famous about the sage, the king and the grains laid out in geometric progression on each cell of the board - the prototype of a chess and checkers.
Dying on December 9, 1048 in the city of Ghazna, Al-Biruni was in full consciousness and, although he was weak, he spoke in scientific topics. Saying goodbye to his friends, he asked the latter: “Oh yes, I kept wanting to ask, what did you tell me once about the methods of counting unrighteous profits?” The amazed friend exclaimed: “Is this what to talk about now!”. Al-Biruni, already losing his voice, whispered: “Oh, you! I think that it is better to leave the world having learned the answer to this question than to leave ignorant ... ".
BIROUNI (BERUNI, AL-BIROUNI) ABU REIKHAN MUHAMMED IBN AHMED AL-BIROUNI
(973 - 1048)
“Real courage lies in contempt for death (whether it is expressed in speech or action), in the struggle against lies. Only he who eschews lies and adheres to the truth is worthy of trust and praise even in the opinion of liars ... "
Abu Reyhan Mohammed ibn Ahmed al-Biruni was born on September 4, 973 on the outskirts of the city of Kyat, which at that time was the capital of Khorezm (now Kyat has been renamed in honor of the great scientist and is called Biruni, located in Uzbekistan). There is practically no information about the scientist's childhood. It is known that with early years Biruni studied with the famous mathematician and astronomer Abu Nasr Mansur ibn Ali ibn Iraq, who was also the cousin of the Shah of Khorezm Abu Abdallah. In one of his poems, Biruni wrote: “In truth, I don’t know my genealogy. After all, I don’t really know my grandfather, and how can I know my grandfather, since I don’t know my father! At the same time, from other works of the scientist it becomes clear that he knew the date of his own birth. Such a contradiction, of course, seems strange. Trying to draw some conclusions about the origin of Biruni, researchers resort to the standard method in such cases - the study of the names of the scientist. But in this case, this method gives little. For example, disputes flared up about the nickname, which was often given by the place of birth of a person. "Biruni" in translation means "outside, outside." The 12th-century historian Samani translated this part of the name as "a man from the suburbs". Following him, many researchers began to assume that Biruni was born outside the walls of the city. From the fact that artisans usually settled outside the fortress wall, in turn, it is concluded that Biruni was born into a family belonging to this social group. For obvious reasons, this point of view was especially widespread in the USSR. But then it is not clear how Biruni in early childhood could get into a family that belonged to the ruling dynasty in Khorezm. Therefore, there is another interpretation of the appearance of this nickname. The word "Biruni" was often used to refer to non-indigenous residents of a particular area. It is possible that the scientist received this nickname when he returned to Khorezm after long wanderings. The name Mohammed and the name of the father Ahmed also give us little information, since sometimes such names were given to children whose father is unknown.
We can say with confidence that already at the age of seventeen Biruni was engaged in serious scientific activity- in 990 he calculated the latitude at which the city of Kyat is located. By 995, when the young scientist was 22 years old, he was already the author of a large number of scientific papers. Of these, "Cartography" has survived to this day, in which a young scientist considered methods for projecting an image of a surface the globe to the plane.
In 995, the calm course of the life of a young scientist was disturbed. The fact is that at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century, the situation in the Arab world was turbulent. In Khorezm and the territories adjacent to it, civil strife broke out every now and then. During the next of them, the ruler Abu Abdallah was overthrown by the emir of Gurganj, the second largest city in Khorezm. How Abu Nasr survived these events is unknown. His own student, Biruni, was forced to flee. Where exactly - the same is unclear. It is only known that some time after the flight, he settled in Ray (present-day Tehran). Biruni wrote that he did not have a patron in Ray (which was very important for a scientist at that time) and he was forced to live in poverty.
Nevertheless, he continued to engage in scientific activities, in particular, he regularly made and recorded astronomical observations. This gave modern researchers the opportunity to determine some of the dates of Biruni's life. For example, the scientist describes the eclipse of the moon, which he observed on May 24 in Kyat. Consequently, at that time Biruni visited Khorezm. But then he again, voluntarily or forcedly, left his homeland. It is possible that the scientist came to Kyat only to observe the eclipse. The fact is that at the same time, by agreement with Biruni, another astronomer observed the eclipse in Baghdad. According to the timing of the eclipse, scientists have determined the difference in the longitude of these cities. This means that Biruni traveled again and lived for some time in Gurgan, on the southeastern coast of the Caspian Sea. When exactly he settled there, it is not exactly known, but around the year 1000 he wrote the book "Chronology", which he dedicated to the ruler of Gurgana. In this work, the author refers to seven of his earlier works. On August 14, 1003, Biruni, while still in Gurgan, observed the eclipse of the Moon, but on June 4, 1004, he was already at home, as he described a similar phenomenon he saw there.
This time in Khorezm, the scientist was received with dignity. In Gurganj - new capital Khorezm, ruled first by Ali ibn Mamun, and then by his brother Abu Abbas Mamun. Both rulers were patrons of science and kept at their court a large staff of the best scientists, among whom Biruni took an honorary position. In addition, here the young scientist was able to work with his former teacher Abu Nasr Mansur, for whom he had the warmest feelings.
Happy and fruitful cooperation with the former teacher at home continued until 1017. This year, Mahmud Ghaznivi, the ruler of the highest point of his heyday, the state of the Ghaznavids, captured Khorezm. Most likely, Biruni and Abu Nasr were taken away by Mahmud. There is no reliable information about how the relationship between scientists and the new ruler developed. But in one of the texts written by Biruni, there is a mention of some serious difficulties that he encountered at the beginning of his work under the auspices of Mahmud. The astronomical observations made by him can again testify to where exactly the scientist continued his work immediately after his departure from Khorezm. For example, the recorded results of observations made on October 14, 1018 in Kabul. The fact that Biruni used devices made independently from improvised means most likely indicates that Mahmud Ghaznevi was not a very generous patron. By the fall of 1019, Biruni was in Ghazna ( modern city Ghazni in Afghanistan), which is also evidenced by the records of his observations of celestial phenomena. Here, most likely as a prisoner, Biruni lived and worked until the end of his life, except for the fact that he accompanied Mahmud on some of his military campaigns. Around 1022, the sovereign included the northern parts of India in his sphere of influence, and by 1026 his army had reached the coast of the Indian Ocean. Biruni is supposed to have visited the northern regions of India and even lived there for several years. He calculated the latitudes of eleven major cities in the Punjab and Kashmir region. But the main result of the trip to India was the major work "An Explanation of the Teachings Belonging to the Indians, Acceptable by Reason or Rejected."
In 1030, Mahmud died, and power passed to his son Masud. It seems that the new ruler treated Biruni much better than his father. Much indicates that the scientist was able to travel freely. Tellingly, Biruni named one of his most famous astronomical works, Masuda's Canon on Astronomy and the Stars, after his new patron. The scientist died in 1048 at the age of 75. Until his death, he continued to engage in scientific activities and wrote scientific papers.
This is practically all the facts from the life of one of the greatest scientists of the Middle Ages. We have already noted that usually much more is known about the works of ancient scientists than about themselves. Biruni is no exception. Due to constant wanderings and a semi-free life, he had neither a family nor children. Books were the main value of his life. “All my books are my children, and most people are fascinated by their children and poetry,” he wrote.
In total, Biruni owns about 150 scientific papers. Like most of his predecessors and contemporaries, he was a generalist scientist. In his circle scientific interests included almost all modern sciences. No wonder Biruni is often called the "great encyclopedist". He is the author of works on history, mathematics, astronomy, physics, geography, geology, medicine, ethnography. An important role in the development of science was played by the data obtained by Biruni himself, and by the fact that he was able to systematize and present the knowledge accumulated before him by scientists from the Arab world, Greece, Rome, and India. In addition to Arabic, the scientist spoke Persian, Sanskrit, Greek, possibly Syriac and Hebrew. This gave him a unique opportunity to compare and compile knowledge different peoples. Here is what Biruni himself wrote about this: “I cite the theories of the Indians as they are, and in parallel with them I touch on the theories of the Greeks to show their mutual closeness.” When translating texts, he worked very carefully, which favorably distinguished him from many contemporary translators. If most of the translations of that time contributed to the accumulation of errors and inaccuracies in the texts, then Biruni, on the contrary, often corrected the mistakes made earlier.
From the works of Biruni, twenty-seven books have survived to this day. We will briefly describe the most significant of them.
One of the first major works of Biruni wrote around 1000. This is the “Chronology” (“Monuments left over from past generations”), which we have already mentioned. In this book, the scientist refers to his more early work- "Astrolabe" ("The book of exhaustion of possible ways of constructing astrolabes"). Around 1021, Biruni compiled the fundamental work “Shadows” (“The Book on the Separation of Everything Said on the Question of Shadows”). In 1025, he wrote the treatise "Geodesy" ("The book of determining the boundaries to clarify the distances between settlements"), and the book "Science of the Stars" ("Kliga of admonition in the beginnings of the science of the stars") dates back to 1030.
Particularly noteworthy is the previously mentioned work "An Explanation of the Teachings Belonging to the Indians, Acceptable by Reason or Rejected." It can be said without exaggeration that this book, written on the basis of materials collected during the Indian military campaigns of Mahmud Ghazni, became the most important source narrating about the history of India, the development of its culture and science. In "Explanations ..." Biruni compares religion, culture and scientific achievements Hindus: "I will add that the Greeks in the era of paganism, before the advent of Christianity, adhered to beliefs similar to those held by the Indians: the worldview of the Greek nobility was close to the worldview of the Indian nobility, and the idolatry of the common people in Greece is similar to the idolatry of the common people in India."
Great importance Among the works of Biruni, he also has a treatise "Masud's Canon on Astronomy and the Stars." Firstly, this work is a kind of encyclopedia of astronomical knowledge. Secondly, the author places special emphasis on mathematical proofs of certain theories and on experimental data. Biruni considered the results of observations and calculations not as biased as many of his astronomer predecessors, who often neglected data that did not fit into one theory or another. In addition to astronomical theories and information, the Masuda Canon contains a large number of mathematical calculations, which played an important role in the development of mathematics.
Already after 1041, Biruni wrote the works "Mineralogy" and "Pharmacognosy". Last work included a description of more than 1000 medicines, information about which Biruni learned from the writings of 250 authors.
Of course, the famous Arab scientist not only studied and systematized the results of research by other scientists, but also conducted his own research and put forward scientific theories. Biruni the researcher was very careful about the results obtained and encouraged his colleagues to do so. Here are his words, which may well be the motto of modern scientists: “The observer must be attentive, carefully review the results of his work, recheck himself.”
Among the most significant theories put forward by Biruni is the idea that the Sun is a hot fiery body, and the planets and the Moon glow with reflected light. He argued that the speed of the rays of light cannot be felt, since there is nothing that would move faster than the rays of light; believed that the solar corona is similar in nature to smoke. Biruni adhered to the Ptolemaic system of the world, but at the same time believed that the theory of heliocentrism was also mathematically acceptable. He also explained the nature of morning and evening dawn, suggesting that it is the result of the glow of dust particles.
Great are the merits of Biruni in the development of new scientific methods in the design of measuring instruments. In the Canon of Masuda, Biruni describes his own way of calculating the radius of the Earth. For this purpose, the scientist climbed a mountain of known height and determined the angle formed by the line of sight directed to the horizon, and its plane. Having the height of the mountain and this angle, Biruni quite accurately calculated the size of the globe. The scientist is the author of many methods of geodetic measurements. He perfected the quadrant, the sextant, and the astrolabe. For example, the fixed quadrant with a radius of 7.5 meters built by him made it possible to carry out measurements with an accuracy of up to two arc minutes and remained the most perfect in the world for four centuries. Many of his measurements, such as the angle of the ecliptic to the equator, also remained the most accurate data for hundreds of years. While working on the book "Mineralogy", Biruni determined the specific gravity of many minerals with exceptional accuracy and even introduced a method for determining minerals by their density.
In his books, Biruni also paid attention to astrology. But, as many quotations from his works show, he was very skeptical about this "science". Apparently, he was forced into astrology, as required by the interests of his patrons. “Once I saw a man who considered himself famous and most learned in the art of divination by the stars,” Biruni wrote. “Because he wanted to get the results of what the stars predetermine, he sincerely believed, in his ignorance, in the combination of the luminaries and looked for the results of their impact on man and society in their connection.”
Obviously, in the works of Biruni, not only the theories and data presented by him are of great value, but also the demonstration to the followers of the very approach to science, which consisted in accuracy, accuracy and repeated verification of theoretical calculations with data obtained experimentally. Biruni also talked about science in general and its place in the world.
We will finish our story about the great encyclopedist with another quote from his works: “There are many areas of knowledge, and there are even more of them when the minds of people of the era of ascending development turn to them in a continuous series: a sign of the latter is the desire of people for the sciences, their respect for them and their representatives. This is, first of all, the duty of those who govern people, since it is they who must free their hearts from worries about everything necessary for earthly life and excite the spirit to seek the greatest possible praise and approval: after all, hearts are created to love this and hate the opposite. However, for our time, rather, the reverse situation is typical. It remains only to regret that these words, spoken a thousand years ago, are still relevant today. I would like to believe that over time, scientists will have less and less reason to speak in the same way about those in power.
Abu Reyhan Muhammad ibn Ahmed al-Biruni (Abu Arrayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni) (973-1048) is a Central Asian scholar and encyclopedist. Born on the outskirts of the city of Kyat, the capital of the ancient state of Khorezm (now part of Uzbekistan). Living under the dominance of the Muslim religion, which was hostile to science, he boldly opposed the religious worldview. Biruni believed that everything in nature exists and changes according to the laws of nature itself, and not according to divine command. These laws can only be comprehended with the help of science. For his progressive views, Biruni was persecuted and forced to leave his homeland and live in exile three times.
Biruni's scientific works cover various fields of knowledge: astronomy and geography, mathematics and physics, geology and mineralogy, chemistry and botany, history and ethnography, philosophy and philology. The main works (over 40) are devoted to mathematics and astronomy, which was of great practical importance for the economic life of Khorezm - for irrigated agriculture and trade travel. The most important tasks of astronomy were the improvement of the calendar and methods of orientation on the Earth by the celestial bodies. It was necessary to be able to determine as accurately as possible the positions in the sky of the Sun, Moon, stars, and also to measure with the greatest possible accuracy the so-called basic astronomical constants - the inclination of the ecliptic to the equator, the length of the solar and sidereal years, etc.
Each nation has distinguished itself in the development of some science or practice.
Al-Biruni
And this, in turn, required the development of mathematics, in particular plane and spherical trigonometry, on the one hand, and the improvement of tools for accurate observations, on the other. The results and achievements of Biruni in all these areas remained unsurpassed for several centuries: the largest wall quadrant is a goniometric tool that made it possible to measure the position of the Sun with an accuracy of 2`; the most accurate determination of the inclination of the ecliptic to the equator and the secular change of this value; new method determining the radius of the Earth - by the degree of lowering the horizon when viewed from a mountain. Biruni almost accurately determined the radius of the Earth (more than 6000 km), based on the concept of its spherical shape.
Biruni accepted and developed the progressive ideas of ancient Greek and ancient Indian philosophers on some general problems of astronomy: he asserted the same fiery nature of the Sun and stars, in contrast to the dark bodies - planets; the mobility of stars and their enormous size compared to the Earth; the idea of gravity. Biruni expressed reasonable doubts about the validity of Ptolemy's geocentric system of the world.
In the very first work "The Chronology of Ancient Peoples" (1000), Biruni collected and described all the calendar systems known in his time, used by various peoples of the world. Astronomical studies are presented by him in the "Book of Interpretation of the Basic Principles of Astronomy" and in other scientific works.
A scientist acts consciously even when spending money.
Al-Biruni
Al-Biruni photo
Al-Biruni - quotes
A scientist acts consciously even when spending money. 
Abu Raykhan Biruni (September 4, 973, the city of Kyat, Khorezm, - December 9, 1048) - a great scientist from Khorezm, author of numerous major works on history, geography, philology, astronomy, mathematics, geodesy, mineralogy, pharmacology, geology, etc. Biruni mastered almost all the sciences of his time. According to information, a posthumous list of his works, compiled by his students, took 60 finely written pages.
Biruni is called an encyclopedic scientist, thereby emphasizing the vastness of his knowledge and discoveries that this person made in various fields of science: in mathematics and astronomy, chemistry and physics, geology and mineralogy, geography and cartography, history and ethnography, philosophy and linguistics. Scientific heritage al-Biruni is about 150 works. His research covers both practical measurements of the coordinates of cities, and the development of methods for solving abstract geometric problems.
In addition to his native Khorezmian language, al-Biruni spoke Arabic, Persian, Greek, Latin, Turkish, Syriac, as well as Hebrew, Sanskrit and Hindi. This knowledge contributed to the development of principles for translating natural science terminology from one language into another.
Geodesy and cartography and much more ...
Being both a theoretician and a practitioner, Biruni insisted on testing the already existing knowledge by experience, testing, experiment. In his work "Geodesy", he wrote that "it is necessary for the observer to be attentive, to carefully review the results of his work, to double-check himself." What explains such universality of Biruni in knowledge and research methods? Most likely, it all started from childhood, from the homeland. Biruni grew up among artisans, to which his parents probably belonged. Therefore, it was natural for the future scientist to turn to solving practical problems related to the needs of life.
The scientist grew up in Kyat, which at that time was in its heyday. Trade routes to the north and south passed through Kyat, and for this reason there were almost always people from different countries who brought with them new knowledge about the world.
Curious by nature, Biruni absorbed new information. In his old age, in his Pharmacognosy in Medicine, he wrote: “By my nature, from my youth I was endowed with an excessive greed for acquiring knowledge in accordance with (my) age and circumstances. As evidence for this, (the following) is enough: a Greek settled (at that time) in our land, and I brought (to him) grains, seeds, fruits and plants, etc., asked what they were called in his language, and wrote them down. Life itself has become a university for Biruni.
Knowing the world from early youth, he was already a young man closely connected with the scientific circles of ancient Khorezm. So, his teacher was the famous astronomer and mathematician Abu Nasr Mansur. Together with his teacher at the age of 17, he participated in calculations geographical latitude the city of Kyat. Soon the first scientific work was followed by the following. By the age of 22, he was already the author of several works, one of which, Cartography, was devoted to mapping and methods for sweeping volume on a plane.
At the age of 27, Biruni published the essay "Chronology of Ancient Peoples", where he collected and described all the calendar systems known in his time, used by various peoples of the world. Based on the study of the chronology of different peoples, the scientist proposed general principles compiling calendars, including agricultural ones.
The relatively calm life that Biruni has led so far has been disturbed by political events. The period of the late 10th - early 11th centuries for Khorezm was a time of wars and upheavals. The stronger state of the Ghaznavid dynasty, with its capital in Ghazni (modern Afghanistan), sought to seize the lands of Khorezm. The ongoing changes had a significant impact on the life of Biruni.
In 1017, the ruler of Khorasan and Afghanistan, Mahmud, conquered Khorezm, and Biruni, along with other prisoners, was sent to Ghazni, where he lived for 13 years. Despite difficult conditions, Biruni continued scientific work. The scientist became a real decoration of the court of Mahmud of Ghazni, while remaining a prisoner. During the period of captivity, he wrote a number of works on geography, astronomy and geology and other sciences. So, Biruni found that light travels faster than sound.
Geology
In the field of hydrogeology, he was the first to offer a correct explanation for the formation of natural springs and artesian wells. Probably during these years he measured the densities of metals and precious stones. He invented a special conical device for these measurements - a vessel filled with water. Pieces of metal, the density of which was determined, were lowered into a vessel, from which water was poured out through a curved tube in a volume equal to the volume of the metal under study. From point of view modern science Biruni's results turn out to be very accurate. By the way, this method of measurement, known as "volumetric", is successfully used to this day in field (expeditionary) studies in soil science, engineering geology, soil science and other sections of geological and soil sciences. In 1038, al-Biruni wrote "Mineralogy, or the Book of Briefs for the Knowledge of Jewels", in which the specific gravity of many minerals is determined and detailed information is given on more than fifty minerals, ores, metals, alloys, etc. He also compiled "Pharmacognosy" - book on medical drugs.
Unfortunately, they became known in Europe very late. In the middle of the 19th century, a manuscript of al-Khazini called "The Book of the Scales of Wisdom" was found. This book contains extracts from the work of Biruni "On the relationship between metals and precious stones in volume”, containing a description of the Biruni device and the results obtained by it. The study of the density of substances was associated with the study of the properties of water.
Biruni pointed out that its properties are influenced by the seasons and the state of the air, and that the density of water depends on the content of impurities in it and on temperature.
Ethnography
During the period of forced stay in Ghazni, Biruni had to participate in the campaign of Mahmud to India. The spirit of a scientist and openness to new knowledge more than once helped Biruni to get used to new conditions. In India, a scientist studies the local culture, customs, language, religion and science.
In the work "India" completed in 1030, al-Biruni gave detailed description life, culture and science of the Indians, outlined their religious and philosophical systems. Al-Biruni used a comparative method in his work: “I give the theories of the Indians as they are, and in parallel with them I touch on the theories of the Greeks in order to show their mutual closeness,” he wrote. At the same time, he referred to Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Galen and other Greek authors, compared Indian and Islamic thought, especially highlighting the teachings of the Sufis as the closest to the Indian theories of Samkhya and yoga. When comparing the customs of different peoples, he mentioned the features of the life of the Slavs, Tibetans, Khazars, Turks, etc.
Biruni, while in India, also studied Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language, which allowed him to read Indian books in the original and gain first-hand knowledge.
Astronomy
By the time India ended, Biruni's position had changed. Mahmud's son Masud ascended the throne. He favorably treated Biruni and patronized him. The scientist dedicated to Masud a large work on astronomy and spherical trigonometry, known as the Canon of Masud, which describes the picture of the world. Here Biruni appears as a great astronomer ahead of his time. The plan of this work is close to the standard plan of the Arab zijs, but unlike them, detailed experimental and mathematical proofs of all the stated provisions are given here; a number of provisions of his predecessors, for example, the assumption of Sabit ibn Korra about the connection between the movement of the apogee of the Sun and the prelude to the equinoxes, al-Biruni refutes, in many issues comes to new conclusions. he asserted the same fiery nature of the Sun and stars, in contrast to the dark bodies - planets, the mobility of stars and their huge size compared to the Earth, the idea of gravitation. Al-Biruni created the first model of the Earth (globe), was able to prove with the help of mathematical calculations that the Earth is round and on the other part of the earth there is a mainland (America) and people live there (later his works on astronomy were used by Galileo Galilei as a basis and could completely prove the shape of the Earth is a sphere).
Al-Biruni made observations on a wall quadrant with a radius of 7.5 m built by an-Nasawi in Rey, performing them with an accuracy of 2 degrees. He established the angle of inclination of the ecliptic to the equator, Biruni almost accurately determined the radius of the Earth (more than 6000 km), based on the concept of its spherical shape, described the change in the color of the Moon during lunar eclipses And solar corona at solar eclipses. Biruni expressed reasonable doubts about the validity of the geocentric system of the world of Ptolemy, arguing that it is not the Sun that revolves around the Earth, but the Earth, like other planets, revolves around the Sun, made a number of remarks about the movement of the Earth around its axis. He explained the phenomenon of morning and evening dawn as a consequence of the glow of dust particles in the rays of the Sun hidden behind the horizon. Biruni improved the main astronomical instruments used at that time (astrolabe, quadrant, sextant).
The results and achievements of Biruni in the field of astronomy remained unsurpassed for several centuries.
Mathematics
Al-Biruni paid much attention to mathematics, especially trigonometry: in addition to a significant part of the "Canon of Mas'ud", he devoted to her the works "On the determination of chords in a circle using a broken line inscribed in it" (here, a number of theorems belonging to Archimedes that have not been preserved in Greek manuscripts), “On Indian Rashiks” (the so-called triple rule is discussed in this book), “Sphere”, “The Book of Pearls on the Plane of the Sphere”, etc. The treatise “Shadows”, several treatises on the astrolabe and other astronomical instruments, a number of works on geodesy.
No matter what political and social changes took place around, no matter what position Biruni found himself in, he remained a researcher, a scientist until the end of his days. He always kept a fresh look at nature and was open to new knowledge. In whatever country he lived and worked, everywhere he established a living connection with people, observed their manners and customs, without showing hostility or intolerance towards people of a different religion.
Despite the fact that no more than one-fifth of Biruni's works have survived to this day, we can get an idea about this great scientist from them. We see a man - the creator of original theories, a thoughtful observer, a brilliant experimenter and linguist.
Biruni was dying in full consciousness and, saying goodbye to all his friends, asked the latter: “What did you once explain to me about the methods of counting unrighteous profits?” "How can you think about it in such a state?" he exclaimed in astonishment. “I think that leaving this world knowing the answer to this question is better than leaving it ignorant…” Biruni replied.
Biruni studied the world, nature, the eternal, without indulging in the vain and the temporal, and time worked for him.
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