Weights and Measures

Weights and measures were among the earliest tools invented by man. Primitive societies needed rudimentary measurement tools for many tasks: constructing dwellings of an appropriate size and shape, fashioning clothing, or bartering food or raw materials.Among the earliest length measures was the foot, which varied from place to place For example, three different Greek standards are known: the Doric foot, the Attic foot and the Samian foot. There were two common sizes for a "foot" - the foot of 246 to 252 mm based on a man's bare foot - the foot of 330 to 335 mm based on two hand measurements. The first calibrated foot ruler, a measurement tool, was invented in 1675 by an unknown inventor.

• Altimeter - An instrument which measures vertical distance with respect to a reference level. Louis Paul Cailletet was the French physicist who invented the altimeter.

• Carpenter Square

• Drafting

• Clocks - The invention of the quartz watch, mechanical clocks, timekeeping devices, and time measurement.

• Protractor - An instrument used to construct and measure plane angles. The simple protractor looks like a semicircular disk marked with degrees, from 0º to 180º. The simple protractor is an ancient device. The first complex protractor was created for plotting the position of a boat on navigational charts. Called a three-arm protractor or station pointer, it was invented in 1801, by Joseph Huddart, a U.S. naval captain. The center arm is fixed, while the outer two are rotatable, capable of being set at any angle relative to the center one.

• Sextant - In 1731, Thomas Godfrey and John Hadley independently invented the reflecting quadrant, a precursor to the sextant. John Campbell invented the sextant in 1757. The octant could only measure latitude, and not longitude. Royal Naval Captain John Campbell's sextant could measure both longitude and latitude.

Mathematicians
A mathematician is an expert in the field of mathematics; a person who is highly skilled and knowledgeable. It is a science that deals with numbers and their interrelations, combinations and operations, data, measurements, quantity, structure, space and generalizations. The science is extensively used in the fields of finance, engineering, industries, robotics, astronomy, business, information technology, and various other fields. Mathematicians analyze data, study patterns and develop mathematical models that not only help to further human knowledge, but are also utilized for solving problems in various fields. These scientists work in the fields of pure and applied mathematics. In the pure form of this science, the researchers work through abstract problems with the sole motive of furthering human knowledge and contributing to theory formation. On the other hand, professionals working in the applied form formulate mathematical models for problem solving in real-world situations. But these two fields are overlapping—what starts out as a theoretical study may spawn some practical applications, while applied study of maths may sometimes contribute to its theoretical base. They need to be highly analytical and technologically savvy with excellent reasoning skills. Browse this section to explore about the life and works of various famous mathematicians from all over the world.

Every culture on earth has developed some mathematics. In some cases, this mathematics has spread from one culture to another. Now there is one predominant international mathematics, and this mathematics has quite a history. It has roots in ancient Egypt and Babylonia, then grew rapidly in ancient Greece. Mathematics written in ancient Greek was translated into Arabic. About the same time some mathematics of India was translated into Arabic. Later some of this mathematics was translated into Latin and became the mathematics of Western Europe. Over a period of several hundred years, it became the mathematics of the world.

There are other places in the world that developed significant mathematics, such as China, southern India, and Japan, and they are interesting to study, but the mathematics of the other regions have not had much influence on current international mathematics. There is, of course, much mathematics being done these and other regions, but it is not the traditional math of the regions, but international mathematics.

By far, the most significant development in mathematics was giving it firm logical foundations. This took place in ancient Greece in the centuries preceding Euclid. Logical foundations give mathematics more than just certainty-they are a tool to investigate the unknown.

By the 20th century the edge of that unknown had receded to where only a few could see. One was David Hilbert, a leading mathematician of the turn of the century. In 1900 he addressed the International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris, and described 23 important mathematical problems.

Mathematics continues to grow at a phenomenal rate. There is no end in sight, and the application of mathematics to science becomes greater all the time.