________________
Scientific Secrets of Jainism
of splitting and combination of particles. Both these processes need energy. In certain circumstances fusion produces atomic power and in others fission produces atomic power.
Uranium, radium etc. used in atomic process emit three types of rays namely alpha (a), Beta (B), and Gamma (). These rays are nothing but shower of particles of a particular kind. An oscilloscope produces their trace on the screen. Particles of alpha rays are like nuclei of Helium atoms, Beta rays contain electrons and Gamma rays are like particles of light and as we have seen the rays of light are also forms of particles which are called photons.
The description of types of paramānu-units in Jain scriptures also support this theory. There are infinite types of Varganās in the universe but there are only eight classified types of Varganās which are useful to living beings. Their names are as under:
1. Audārika Vargaņā 2. Vaikriya Vargaņā 3. Ahāraka Vargaņā 4.Taijas Vargaņā 5.Bhāṣā Vargaņā 6. śvāsõcchvāsa Vargaņā 7. Manā Vargaņā 8. Kārmaņa Vargaņā.
Vargaņā' are groups of paramāņus and each unit of it has a certain paramānus number. Paramāņu-units of Audārika Varganā possesses infinite number of paramānus. All fundamental particles such as eletron, proton, neutron, positron, neutrino, quark and so many others that scientists have discovered belong to the Audārika Vargaņā.
Of the eight types of Vargaņās we here confine our discussion to Taijas Vargaņā and Bhāṣā Varganā. Different types of electromagnetic waves and light waves are paramānu-units of Taijas Vargaņā and sound waves are paramāņu-units of Bhāṣā Vargaņā.
More description and explanation is given in Jain tretises like कर्मप्रकृति, Yangue, 3ERİCIT etc.
It is very pertinent here to study how sound is created and how it propagates in the universe. The fourth chapter named Bhāṣā-Jāta of the second part of the Ācārānga, the sacred Jain Āgama (canonical book) states that sound (Bhāṣā ) has four varieties :
1. Utpatti-Jāta, 2. Paryava-Jāta 3. Antara-Jāta and 4. Grahaņa-Jāta.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org