an elephant can substitute a measuring system !!!!!

Once a peasant wins over Akbar with his loyalty,Akbar ask peasant to make I wish

Peasant asks for food grains equal to that of an elephant

but disallows to weigh the elephant????????

• Birbal asks mahout to take elephant to river

• Takes elephant over a boat

• Marks the water level upto which boat sinks

• Then replaces elephant with foodgrains

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Elephant !!! Not at all

• Use of elephant as measurement unit• Was it standard – yes ….but was circumstantial• Today the need is of a unit which will

measure the magnitude of the concerned entity and also a more physible replacement of elephant

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Simplifying the measurement

• Thus measuring a thing is nothing but converting it into some tangible unit.

in example it was an elephant• It is nothing but a mode of communication• Defination – “Measurement is determination

of the magnitude of a quantity by comparing with a standard for the same.”

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A definite set of standardized units having consistent inter-relation , used to determine the magnitude of

an entity can be called as measurement system

Measurement system

Why do we need a measurement system?

• For the same reason we need an alphabet - so we can effectively use a form of communication

• It’s a type of vocabulary to convey the magnitude of observation

• When experiments are performed there are always some observations where questions like "how fast", "how far", or "how much" must be answered. The only way to answer these questions is through measurement.

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Main objective- Quantifying observation

• Thought is simply a process of gaining knowledge without quantification

• quantifying that observation is science • Hence the thought process ultimately has to

be quantified suitably, using appropriate units of measurement so as to call that subject 'science',

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History

• The history of measurement systems in India Indus Valley Civilization with the earliest surviving samples dated to the 5th millennium BCE.

• Since early times the adoption of standard weights and measures has reflected in the country's architectural, folk, and metallurgical artifacts. etc

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Ancient Units of Measurement

• Measurements were generally derived from human body part eg The foot unit of measure was used widely across the Roman Empire. It is now estimated to be about 295 mm (11.6")

• The basic unit of measurement for the Egyptians was the royal cubit of "meh" which was about 524 mm

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• The People of the Biblical period generally used a composite of the neighbouring regions in the methods of measurement : the digit or "esba" (18.75 mm)

• The Maya employed a measurement system involving what we are calling a zapal= 144 xoot, which was 147 ± 5 cm long : the ancient Maya, and that multiples of 3, 4, and 12 are involved.

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• In ancient china measurement units were somewhat standardized by using celebrities’ limb lengths, which were set as legal units.

eg : length of a finger was considered as one cun.

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characteristics of measurements

• they must not vary with place and time• should be easily reproducible• should be well-defined• should be of proper size• should not change easily with the changing

physical conditions like temperature, pressure etc.

• should be accessible, i.e. not too small when compared to the quantities to be measured.

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Cornerstone…. “Ganita”• natural numbers ,whole numbers – contributed

by Indians• Indians gave the system of decimal place value:

ref-Taittiriya-Samhita and the Valmiki Ramayana • Mahaviracarya (A.D. 850) says in his Ganita-Sara-

Sangraha “Whatever there is in all the three worlds, which are possessed of moving and non-moving beings, cannot exist apart from Ganita”

• All entities are dependent upon Ganita (for their due comprehension)

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Kalinga system -- magadha system

• ancient India – cluster of kingdoms• Two mighty kingdoms—Kalinga and Magadha• Two prevalent measuring systems of the

above rules • Wide acceptance of Magadha system of

measurement

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Measurement systems adopted in ayurveda

• Time measurement (kala maana )• Linear measurement (payvya maana)• Mass measurement (pautava maana)• Volume measurement (druvaya maana)

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Time• Ancient Indians devised a detailed

terminology for minute intervals of time. Ancient Units of Time

18 nimesas (winks) 1 kashta (3.2 seconds)

30 kashtas 1 kala (1.6 minutes)

15 kalas 1 nadika or 1 nalika

30 kalas or 2 nadikas 1 muhurta or kshana (48 minutes?)

30 muhurtas 1 aho-ratra (1 cycle of day and night, 24 hours)

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Vedic system1 Tatpara 9000 seconds

60 Tatpara 1 Para

60 Para 1 Valipta

60 Valipta 1 Lipta or Vipal

60 Lipta 1 Vighati or Pala

60 Vighati 1 Ghati = 24 minutes

60 Ghatis 1 Day = 24 hours

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6 prana 1 vinadi = 60 nadi

60 nadi sidereal day n night

30 sidereal days 1month (savanna)

12 lunar month (tithi)=12 soura solar month =

1 year360 day n night = 1 year of gods or demons

12000 years chaturyuga(4 yuga) =10000(432) solar years

170 chaturyuga=manvantara

1000 chaturyuga 1 kalpa

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small units of time-Recent findings

leekshaka 1/60 parmaanu 1/15th second

lava 1/60 leekshakamu

1/900th second

renu 1/60 lavamu 1/54000th second

truti 1/60 renuvu 1/324000th second

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Payya maana

• System of measurement of length

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Sharangdhara samhita

1 angula 8 yava

12 angula 1 vitasti

22 angula 1 aratni

24 angula 1 hasta

1 hasta 1 vyoma

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Visvakarma8 riksa (lit. a nit) 1 yuka (a louse)8 yuka 1 yavam (a barley grain)8 yavam 1 angula (a finger)12 angula 1 Vitasti24 angula 1 hasta (hand) = 2 nal4 hasta 1 dhanurdanda2000 dhanurdand 1 kosh2 kosh 1 Gabhyuti2 Gabhyuti 1 Yojana

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Conversion into prevalent units

• The smallest unit - anu =0.000053 cm

• 1 angula = 1.763 cm

• The largest unit -1 yojana = 1353984 cm

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pautava maana

• Ancient measurement system of measuring mass of a substance

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pautava maana- rasaratnasamuchhaya

• 6 Anu = 1 Truti• 6 Truti = 1 Liksha• 6 Liksha = 1 Yuka• 6 yuka= 1 Raja• 6 Raja = 1 Sarshapa• 6 Sarshapa = 1 Yava• 6 Yava = 1 Gunja(Raktik¡)• 2 gunja= 1 nishpava• 3 Gugunja= 1 Valla• 2 Valla = 1 masha• 2 Masha = 1 Dharana• 2 Dharana = 1 Shana(Nishka )• 2 Shana(Nishka ) = 1 Kola• 2 Kola = 1 Karsha (96 Gunja)

• 2 Karsha= 1 shukti• 2 shukti = 1 Pala• 2 Pala = 1 Prasruta• 2 Prasruta = 1 Kudava • 2 Kudava = 1 Manika• 2 Manika = 1 Prastha• 2 Prastha = 1 shubha• 2 shubha = 1 Adhaka• 4 Adhaka = 1 Drona• 100 Pala = 1 Tula• 40 Tula = 1 Bh¡ra• 4000 Pala = 1 Bh¡ra

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Recent findings

• The actual weight of one ratti = 120 mg is confirmed by an experiment

Based on the same one • 1 anu = 0.000428 mg• 1 tola =11.52 gms• 1 Bh¡ra =18,4320.00 gms• 1 karsha = 72 ratti =720mg. in Rasashastra;

whereas1 karsha = 96 ratti =960mg. in Kalinga or Magadha system.

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Druvaya mana

•All forms of scientific measurement, in fact, can be reduced to fundamental properties: length, mass, time.

•Ancient seers were cognizant with this truth

•Extended use of payya maana and pautava maana for calculating the volume

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Measuring volumeMushti 61 Lt

Cudava 244 Lt

Prastha 976 Lt

Drona 15,616 Lt

Cumbha 312,320 Lt

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Smallest druvya maana units

8 bindu 1 shaan

4 shaan 1 shukti

2 shukti 1 panishukti

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Limitations of ancient measuring systems

• vary from one person to the next, so if you need accuracy or repeatability, they’re not the best choice.

• The subjective interpretation on one's senses and so usually varies

• They are not easily reproducible• Inexpedient compared to modern measuring systems

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Steps to overcome limitations• Manusmriti, sets out the following as being

among the duties of a king: “The king should examine the weights and balances every six months to ensure true measurements and to mark them with the royal stamp.”

• Thus, the need to standardize and authenticate weights and measures was felt in India at a very early epoch

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How to standardize??

• determination of the magnitude of a quantity by comparison with a preset standard

• For convenience, such a standard must be marked off both in multiples and in fractions of the basic unit.

• The new standards must be widely used and universally accepted

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SI • Among the prevalent systems of units the SI

units is a new, comprehensive and rationalized system of units, accepted by the 11th conference of weights and measures in 1960

• The current international standard metric system is the international system of units evloved from metric system

• It is an system based on the metre, kilogram and second as well as the kelvin, ampere, candela, and mole.

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Advantages of standardized units• The units are more logical and coherent.• The units are more easily reproducible.• The units do not change with time as they are

based on the properties of an atom.• The units are more comprehensive, covering all

disciplines of science and technology.• The units are convertible into CGS system very

easily, whenever needed.• The units are a metric system in multiples and

subsequently, can be expressed as the powers of 10 GAURAV GUPTE/2010

I can surely conclude that measurements which are standardized can be more helpful than an

elephant!

Thank you

GAURAV GUPTE/2010