Page Text
________________
Reality and Matter: Definition, Properties and Classification : 165
process. However, the table suggests that Jaina touch effects are in advance of the Vaiseṣikas and Buddhas but they lag behind the current science.
(a) Thermal Effects
The thermal touch effects are agreed by all the systems. However, their number and accuracy varies. The Jainas have two thermal effects. There were no thermometers in philosophical age, hence, the normal healthy human body was taken as standard for relative hotness and coldness. Vaiseṣikas realised a third variety for those bodies which had the same temperature as the body. The Jainas did not feel for this variety. The Buddhas seem to include hotness in coldness. The scientists, however, express the thermal effects in terms of temperature. By measuring the melting and boiling points etc., they determine the purity of substances. By the concept of temperature, the scientists have given quantitative aspect to the thermal effects. This leads one to feel the comparative refinement by the scientists over the philosophical age.
(b) Surfacial Effects These effects are also agreed by all systems but their number and definition varies. The Jainas have only two varieties hard and soft. Though the Vaiseṣikas have not included them in their touch effects but they agree to hardness in solids and liquidity in liquids. In addition, they have enumerated elasticity as one of the effects which does not find mention in Jaina canons. The Buddhas and the scientists define the surface effects in terms of smoothness and roughness together with hardness and softness. Though the Buddhas have only one each in both types, but the other type of opposite nature could be inferred. On the other hang, the Jainas have explained the smoothness and roughness in terms of internal electrical nature of matter leading to their combination process. Moreover, the scientists have added many more surface effects (more than a dozen ) mentioned earlier. All these effects are related to the basic two of the Jainas but they show better insight into the surface effects. Their quan
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
Jain Education International
-
| SR No. | 001670 |
| Book Title | Scientific Contents in Prakrta Canons |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | N L Jain |
| Publisher | Parshwanath Vidyapith |
| Publication Year | 1996 |
| Total Pages | 608 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English, Science, & Religion |
| File Size | 9 MB |