﻿230 
  Scientific 
  Intelligence. 
  

  

  success. 
  In 
  particular, 
  attention 
  may 
  be 
  called 
  to 
  the 
  excellence 
  

   of 
  the 
  diagrams 
  relating 
  to 
  the 
  wave 
  constructions 
  pertaining 
  to 
  

   spherical 
  mirrors 
  and 
  lenses. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  the 
  material 
  

   selected 
  for 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  light 
  does 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  well 
  balanced 
  

   for 
  practical 
  purposes. 
  For 
  example, 
  prisms 
  are 
  almost 
  

   neglected, 
  whereas 
  diffraction 
  gratings 
  and 
  spectroscopic 
  phe- 
  

   nomena 
  have 
  a 
  disproportionate 
  amount 
  of 
  space 
  devoted 
  to 
  

   them. 
  J. 
  Stefan's 
  name 
  is 
  consistently 
  spelled 
  "Steffan" 
  both 
  

   in 
  the 
  text 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  index. 
  h. 
  s. 
  u. 
  

  

  11. 
  Hindu 
  Achievements 
  in 
  Exact 
  Science; 
  by 
  Benoy 
  Kumar 
  

   Sarkar. 
  Pp. 
  xiii, 
  82. 
  New 
  York, 
  1918 
  (Longmans, 
  Green, 
  and 
  

   Co.). 
  — 
  "The 
  main 
  object 
  of 
  this 
  little 
  book 
  is 
  to 
  furnish 
  some 
  

   of 
  the 
  chronological 
  links 
  and 
  logical 
  affinities 
  between 
  the 
  scien- 
  

   tific 
  investigations 
  of 
  the 
  Hindus 
  and 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  Greeks, 
  

   Chinese 
  and 
  Saracens." 
  The 
  subject-matter 
  is 
  conveniently 
  

   divided 
  into 
  sixteen 
  chapters 
  dealing 
  respectively 
  with 
  arith- 
  

   metic, 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  , 
  differential 
  calculus, 
  astronomy, 
  physics, 
  chem- 
  

   istry, 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  , 
  surgery, 
  anatomy 
  and 
  physiology, 
  etc. 
  Not 
  only 
  

   is 
  the 
  book 
  valuable 
  as 
  a 
  contribution 
  to 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  Hindu 
  

   science, 
  but 
  also 
  because 
  it 
  brings 
  to 
  light 
  many 
  interesting 
  facts 
  

   regarding 
  national 
  priority. 
  

  

  For 
  example, 
  in 
  arithmetic, 
  the 
  Hindus 
  invented 
  both 
  the 
  

   symbols 
  of 
  numbers 
  or 
  numerals 
  and 
  the 
  decimal 
  system 
  of 
  

   notation. 
  "In 
  modern 
  times 
  the 
  numerals 
  are 
  wrongly 
  known 
  

   as 
  'Arabic' 
  because 
  the 
  European 
  nations 
  got 
  them 
  from 
  their 
  

   Saracen 
  (Arab) 
  teachers." 
  Hindu 
  trigonometry 
  was 
  in 
  advance 
  

   of 
  the 
  Greek 
  in 
  certain 
  particulars, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  tables 
  of 
  sines 
  

   and 
  of 
  versed 
  sines. 
  The 
  term 
  "sine" 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  an 
  Arabic 
  

   corruption 
  from 
  Sanskrit 
  ' 
  ' 
  shin 
  jini. 
  " 
  " 
  Bhaskaracharya 
  antici- 
  

   pated 
  Newton 
  (1642-1727) 
  by 
  over 
  five 
  hundred 
  years 
  (1) 
  in 
  

   the 
  discovery 
  of 
  the 
  principles 
  of 
  differential 
  calculus 
  and 
  (2) 
  

   in 
  its 
  application 
  to 
  astronomical 
  problems 
  and 
  computations." 
  

   With 
  regard 
  to 
  physics 
  one 
  quotation 
  will 
  suffice: 
  "Mookerji 
  

   points 
  out 
  a 
  compass 
  on 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  ships 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  Hindus 
  of 
  

   the 
  early 
  Christian 
  era 
  sailed 
  out 
  to 
  colonize 
  Java 
  and 
  other 
  

   islands 
  in 
  the 
  Indian 
  Ocean. 
  The 
  Hindu 
  compass 
  was 
  an 
  iron 
  

   fish 
  (called 
  in 
  Sanskrit 
  mat 
  sya-y 
  antra 
  or 
  fish 
  machine). 
  It 
  

   floated 
  in 
  a 
  vessel 
  of 
  oil 
  and 
  pointed 
  to 
  the 
  north. 
  ' 
  ' 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  thus 
  clear 
  that 
  some 
  of 
  our 
  ideas 
  concerning 
  the 
  general 
  

   history 
  of 
  early 
  scientific 
  knowledge 
  will 
  be 
  profoundly 
  modified 
  

   by 
  reading 
  this 
  very 
  interesting 
  little 
  book. 
  Confidence 
  in 
  the 
  

   reliability 
  of 
  the 
  text 
  is 
  strengthened 
  by 
  the 
  bibliographical 
  list 
  

   of 
  seventy-nine 
  authoritative 
  works 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  author 
  has 
  

   derived 
  most 
  of 
  his 
  data. 
  h. 
  s. 
  u. 
  

  

  12. 
  The 
  Life 
  and 
  Discoveries 
  of 
  Michael 
  Faraday; 
  by 
  J. 
  A. 
  

   Crowtiier. 
  Pp. 
  72, 
  1 
  portrait. 
  London, 
  1918 
  (Society 
  for 
  

   Promoting 
  Christian 
  Knowledge). 
  — 
  This 
  little 
  book 
  belongs 
  to 
  

   the 
  scries 
  entitled 
  "Pioneers 
  of 
  Progress: 
  Men 
  of 
  Science" 
  

  

  