5 months ago
2
GUWAHATI
A survey published successful the Indian Journal of History of Science a fewer months agone has challenged long-held beliefs astir the origins of mineral acids, suggesting that past Indian scholars whitethorn person understood and utilized them centuries earlier akin cognition appeared successful Europe oregon the Arab world.
For decades, historians believed that Arab alchemists developed mineral acids — specified arsenic nitric acerb oregon aqua regia (Latin for ‘royal water’), susceptible of dissolving metals similar golden — aft the 9th period Common Era (CE) and aboriginal passed connected to Europe. Ancient Indian chemistry was thought to trust chiefly connected mild, integrated acids derived from plants and fermented liquids. The research, however, paints a acold much blase picture.
Vineet Sharma and Venkatnarayan Ramanathan of the Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems astatine the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University) are the authors of the study. The second is besides associated with the Department of Chemistry astatine IIT (BHU).
By intimately examining classical Indian texts written earlier the 8th period CE, including the Arthaśāstra, Suśruta Saṃhitā, and alchemical works specified arsenic the Rasārṇava, the authors identified elaborate descriptions of chemic processes that would not enactment without beardown mineral acids.
These texts often notation to substances specified arsenic kāsīsa (green vitriol), alum, saltpetre, sulphur, and sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride). In modern chemistry, these ingredients are known to make almighty acids erstwhile heated oregon mixed nether circumstantial conditions.
To trial whether these past recipes could really nutrient acids, the researchers recreated respective processes described successful the texts utilizing laboratory equipment. They measured acidity utilizing modern pH meters and indicator paper. The results showed that the recreated mixtures consistently produced highly acidic solutions, confirming that mineral acids were being generated in situ or connected the spot, alternatively than arsenic separately isolated chemicals.
China connection
The survey besides links Indian chemic cognition to China. Chinese humanities records from the 7th period CE picture Indian scholars who possessed mysterious “waters” that could dissolve metals and integrated substance instantly — properties powerfully associated with mineral acids. The researchers reason that specified accounts bespeak existent chemic cognition alternatively than legend, and that ideas apt travelled betwixt India and China done scholars and monks.
The survey besides questions the communicative that credits the find of mineral acids to the Arab alchemist Jābir ibn Hayyān, known successful Europe arsenic Geber. Several historians person already argued that galore texts attributed to Geber were really written centuries aboriginal successful Europe. The adjacent similarities betwixt Indian alchemical recipes and aboriginal European descriptions of mineral acids rise the anticipation that Indian cognition either predated oregon influenced these developments.
By combining textual assistance with experimental chemistry, the researchers reason that past Indian subject was empirical, practical, and acold much precocious than commonly assumed. Although framed successful religious, symbolic, oregon philosophical language, the underlying methods were systematic and reproducible.
The findings telephone for a broader re-evaluation of planetary technological history, peculiarly the inclination to presumption past non-Western cognition systems arsenic purely speculative oregon mystical. Instead, the survey shows that past Indian scholars engaged successful blase chemic experimentation, aligning intimately with modern technological principles.
As debates proceed implicit the dating and authorship of cardinal alchemical texts, the authors accent that further interdisciplinary probe — combining history, chemistry, and philology — could uncover adjacent deeper roots of technological cognition successful the subcontinent.
