Brahmagupta
He was a famous mathematician and astronomer who lived in seventh century India. His ideas were so profound
that they still influence mathematics today! In this lesson, learn all about his life and his discoveries.
Brahmagupta and Brahmasphutasiddhanta
About 1500 years ago, in 628 A.D., a book called the Brahmasphutasiddhanta was published in India. Over the next few
hundred years, it would cause a revolution within the world of mathematics that slowly spread across the entire world. Sixth
and seventh century India was a hotbed for scientific and mathematical innovation, and the basic numerical system that we
use today developed in this time and place.
However, even in that exciting and progressive environment, this book stood out among the rest. It was written by a brilliant
mathematician and astronomer named Brahmagupta, and in it, he developed most of the rules that we still use to work with
the numeral zero.
The Infamous Zero
While most of us take the numeral zero for granted today, its usefulness was certainly not apparent throughout most of
history could be used as a number by itself. The evidence suggests that Brahamagupta was the first person to really explain
how to use zero in mathematics, and without his remarkable achievement, our world would be very different today.
Even more impressive, this was not the only significant contribution that Brahmagupta would make to the world of
mathematics and science. He developed several more mathematical theorems, calculated the length of the solar year more
precisely than anyone had done before, and calculated the circumference of the Earth. He was truly one of the greatest
thinkers who have ever lived.
Early Life and Work
The remarkable life of Brahmagupta began in 598 AD in northwestern India. He spent most of his life living near the modern
Indian city of Bhinmal, which was then known as Bhillamala. It is sometimes referred to as Bhillamalacharya, which means the
teacher from Bhillamala.
He began to study astronomy when he was a young man. At this time, Indian astronomy was quite advanced compared to
the work being done in the rest of the world. When he was only 30 years old, he published his most famous book,
the Brahmasphutasiddhanta. In this book, he mainly focused on issues related to astronomy. He asserted that the Earth was
round and not flat, as many people still believed, and even calculated that the circumference of the Earth was approximately
36,000 km. Today, we know that the Earth's circumference is actually about 40,000 km, so Brahmagupta's calculations were
pretty accurate!
He was also able to predict the motion of the planets and the timing of solar and lunar eclipses. He calculated the solar year
very accurately, writing that one solar year was 365 days, 5 minutes, and 19 seconds. Down to the minute, this is what
scientists have now measured the solar year to actually be!
His book also contained chapters on mathematics, and it was in these chapters that he explained the rules for using zero in
mathematical calculations. He also explained how to work with negative numbers, which he referred to as debts. In his
writing, positive numbers were called fortunes, and among other things, he was the first person to explain why the product of
a positive and a negative number (fortune and debt) would also be negative. No one had ever done this before either!
He also made contributions to geometry, including accurately calculating the constant pi, and developing a way to calculate
the area of a cyclic quadrilateral that is still known as Brahmagupta's Formula.
Formula that could be used to calculate the area of a cyclic
quadrilateral like this one.
He Told
A debt minus zero is a debt.
A fortune minus zero is a fortune.
Zero minus zero is a zero.
A debt subtracted from zero is a fortune.
fortune subtracted from zero is a debt.
The product of zero multiplied by a debt or fortune is zero.
The product of zero multipliedby zero is zero.
The product or quotient of two fortunes is one fortune.
The product or quotient of two debts is one fortune.
The product or quotient of a debt and a fortune is a debt.
Other Insights of Brahmagupta
The earth had a circumference of approximately 22,500 miles.
Gave a close parameter to what pi is known to be as 3 or 3.16 if the measurement of a circle’s circumference to diameter ration
needed to be more precise.
Positive and negative numbers rule:
When a negative number is subtracted from a positive; it is the same as adding two positive numbers. (2- -3=5; 2+3=5)
Adding two negative numbers results in a negative number.
Multiplying two negatives is same as multiplying two positive numbers.
dividing a positive number by a negative, or a negative number by a positive result in a negative number.
