"Scientific Contributions[or glories] of Ancient Tamils"/Part:03"The Ancient Tamil Poetry & Science/Atom":
[The six parts Tamil article published in theebam.com on "பண்டைய தமிழ் பாடல்களில் விஞ்ஞானம்"[Science in the Ancient Tamil Poetries ] is the based for this English article "Scientific Contributions[or glories] of Ancient Tamils",but with substantial improvements,For Tamil articles refer :http://www.ttamil.com/theebam.com ] November /December 2016 ]---
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From ancient times, Indian philosophers believed that except ether or space, all other elements were physically palpable and hence comprised of small and minuscule particles of matter. They believed that the smallest particle which could not be subdivided further was paramanu,a Sanskrit word.Actually,Paramanu is made of two Sanskrit words, param meaning ultimate or beyond and anu meaning atom.Further,the world came to know about nuclear power and atom bomb only around 1945. But the concept of atom bomb was sung 1500 years ago,When a tamil poetess wanted to praise Tirukkural, what she said was this:It is like cramping seven seas in to a single mustard seed. The meaning of Kural is vast. But poet Tiruvalluvar put seven seas in to one mustard seed was the message given by this poetess. Why should he sing about putting seven seas into one tiny seed? Will the Tamil world understand such a simile without some knowledge of huge power in tiny things? Will they knew that if one tiny seed is split into,energy equal to seven seas will be generated?
"Thiruvalluvar pierced an atom and injected seven seas into it and compressed it into what we have today as Kural."
["அணுவைத் துளைத்தேழ் கடலைப் புகட்டிக் குறுகத் தறிந்த குறள்."]
- (Avvaiyar, ancient Tamil poet/திருவள்ளுவ மாலை-ஔவையார்)-
Avvaiyar might not have known the current "atom" in the strictest scientific sense. by அணுவைத் துளைத்து ஏழ் கடலைப் புகட்டி (புகுத்தி?) (aNuvaith thuLaiththu Ez kadalai puguththi), she just meant to indicate the smallest possible size in which matter can exist. Only the size has been redefined continuously with the advent of science.
"சாணிலும் உளன்;ஓர் தன்மை, அணுவினைச் சத கூறு இட்ட கோணிலும் உளன்"
- (கம்பமராமாயணம் - இரணியன் வதைப் படலம்)-
Also,Kambar writes about Lord Narayana’s Narasimha avatara and recounts how Prahlada is taunted by his father Hiranyakasipu. The asura, Hiranyakasipu, asks his son Prahlada where Lord Narayana resides. Prahlada replies that He resides not only in an atom, but if an atom were to be split into a hundred parts, He would still be in every one of those parts.The term "atom" however should not be conflated with the concept of atom as it is understood today.But if you read the Another old Tamil poem which says that one mustard seed has 32768 anu (=8 to the power of 5 anu[atom]). Though their atom is very different from what we read in Today’s Physics book about Atoms,atleast they knew smallest measurements which others did not at that time in the history .
8 அணு[Atom] – 1 தேர்த்துகள்( Chariot dust particle)
8 தேர்த்துகள் – 1 பஞ்சிழை[cotton thread]
8 பஞ்சிழை – 1 மயிர்[hair]
8 மயிர் – 1 நுண்மணல்[sand particle]
8 நுண்மணல் – 1 கடுகு[mustard seed]
8 கடுகு – 1 நெல்[paddy seed]
8 நெல் 1 பெருவிரல்[finger length]
12 பெருவிரல் – 1 சாண்[saan]
2 சாண் – 1 முழம்[muzam]
4 முழம் – 1 கோல்[kol]
500 கோல் – 1 கூப்பிடு[kuuppidu]
4 கூப்பிடு – 1 காதம்[Katham]
Tirumular was one of the 18 Tamil Siddhars. He sings about splitting a cow’s hair in to 10000 million hairs. He takes the readers step by step. He asks one to take one hair from the tail of a cow. Then ask us to split it in to 100. Then in to 1000……….. and so on.(Tirumanthiram 2011 )
"மேவிய சீவன் வடிவது சொல்லிடில்
கோவின் மயிரொன்று நூறுடன் கூறிட்டு
மேவிய கூறது ஆயிர மாயினால்
ஆவியின் கூறுநூ றாயிரத் தொன்றாமே"
"To speak of the size of Jiva[soul] It is like this:
Split a cow's hair soft Into a hundred tiny parts;
And each part into a thousand parts divide;
The size of Jiva is that one of part Of the one hundred thousand."
In the above line, to explain The Lord Shiva (PARAMANU) size ,he consider a Cow's hair which should be divided into 100 and then again dividing a single particle with 1000 and then dividing resulting single particle into 100,000 results in the size of Lord Shiva (PARAMANU)or Atom's Atom.. Now let’s go in simple calculation.....
An average cow Hair is about 100 Micron [the diameter of the shaft of animal hair varies between 25 Micron to 160 Micron]
converting 100 Micron [micrometre,equaling 1×10−6 of a metre or one thousandth of a millimetre, 0.001 mm] in mm (100 micron = 0.1 millimeter and 1 m = 1000 mm)
100 Micron = 0.1mm
now the cow hair = 0.1 mm
now as per his saying just divide this with 100 as a first step
0.1 / 100 = 0.001 mm
now considering a single particle (i.e.,) 0.001 mm , and dividing it with 1000 results in second step of it
0.001 / 1000 = 0.000001 mm
now again considering a resulting single part (i.e.,) 0.000001 mm , dividing it with 100,000 as per his saying results in the size of Shiva (PARAMANU- the master atom) or a Atom's atom .
0.000001 mm / 100000 = 0.00000000001 mm
Now as per his saying, Lord Shiva or PARAMANU is about 0.00000000001 mm or 0.00000000000001 m [around 10 to the power of minus 14 m [around 10^-14 m] in size.The most appropriate length scale associate with the Higgs is about 10 to the power of minus 17 m [around 10^-17 m], which is about 1/100th the size of a proton.A proton has a diameter of approximately one-millionth of a nanometer or 10 to the power of minus 15 [around 10^-15 m] and also,the diameter of an atom ranges from about 0.1 to 0.5 nanometers (1 × 10−10 m to 5 × 10−10 m).So,It is definitely very much less than an Atom.So,does it is nearly equivalent to proton / Higgs Particle?? Thirumoolar who said about the size of Lord Shiva, considered as Atom's Atom.or Nearly about the size of proton / Higgs Boson particle
Another Thirumanthiram 1628,says that: the one who is dissolved in everything in this world and seem as if he is not there anywhere and even not visible to common eyes , who looks in golden colour with shagginess of hair, he will not be visible until someone in deep search of him, who will attract everyone like a glittering white moon.now check the images of Higgs Boson particle . Everywhere you see is a Golden flame which looks like shagged hair around it..!
"கரந்துங் கரந்திலன் கண்ணுக்குந் தோன்றான்
பரந்த சடையன் பசும்பொன் நிறத்தன்
அருந்தவர்க் கல்லால் அணுகலு மாகான்
விரைந்து தொழப்படும் வெண்மதி யானே."
"He hides and yet hides not; He appears not to the naked eye;
He of the spreading matted locks; The gold-hued;
None but they of hard tapas may near Him;
Do hasten and Him adore, He, the mighty one of the white moon crest."
[Kandiah Thillaivinayagalingam]
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