Scientific Contents in Prakrta Canons

SR No.: 001670
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

Page 379

Contents of Physics -2 : Sound, Electricity and Magnetism
: 357
specific qualities there as ascribed to the living beings. Many people assuming it to be living do not use light bulbs and loud speakers. This seems to be a paradox. On the one hand, they would make the natural water non-living by heating and prescribe the heated and later cooled water for the saints and on the other hand, they would not use electricity becuse it is hot?
The canons indicate the transformation of fire into light and electricity. Light can also be transformed into heat. This is clear from the heat produced from glasses or gems. There is, however, no example of transformation of electricity into heat in canons. It may be, probably, due to oversight about the conducting or insulating nature of substances. We are quite familiar with large number of useful applications of this fact in daily life.
The electricity could now be measured in terms of power in watts or kilowatts, voltage in terms of volts and current in terms of amperes. This quantitative aspect of electricity is also missing in canons. Table 6 has given many points of extension or modification of knowledge about electricity in current age over the canonical period confirming sufficient growth in post-canonical centuries. 2. Magnetism
Though canons do not contain the term magnetism, but history of magnets starts since 800 B. C. It has been defined with a power of attraction between two substances without contact. This power is maximum in iron. That is why, a magnet is called 'Ayas-kānta', iron-loving. It is said that the magnet attracts the iron without touching it. But if the iron (or the magnet ) is covered, it will not be able to attract it. Thus, the attraction of iron by magnet without touching or covering shows its nature to be non-contactile as has been pointed out in case of vision by the eye. Hemcandra and Prabhācandra49 have pointed out this property in their treatises. The Jaina literature does not have any other property besides this. The scien