Science and Medicine in Islam

, or the possible permutations and combinations of physical numbers, including binomial coefficients and roots. With their new math, they were able to classify and solve a wide range of equations previously unknown to Euclidian geometry fairly easily and efficiently. The discoveries of Islamic mathematicians were ahead of their time and provided the basis for future non-Euclidian math.

For Islamic scientists, astrology was always a subject of exploration and curiosity. Astrologists combined their findings with data from Greek scientists such as Ptolemy to refine and edit older theories, as well as come up with their own. A notable Islamic astronomer was Thabit Ibn Qurra, who developed a theory as to why equinoxes varied from year to year. He was among the first to study the speed and velocity of moving objects, and added a ninth planet to Ptolemy’s model of the planets. It was not only due to individual efforts that allowed the Golden Age of Islam to uncover so much about astronomy, but a collaborative effort as well. A huge astronomy project sponsored by caliph al-Mamun in the capital of Baghdad and the major city of Damascus discovered and fixed inconsistencies in several older theories and produced the Zij al-mumtahan, a corrected version of Ptolemy’s data. An extremely important invention also developed by astronomer Muhammad al-Fazari was an astrolabe, a device that allowed a person to calculate data obtained from the stars. With it, one was able to calculate the approximate time, latitude, and the approximate location of specific planets and stars without the possible faults of a compass or map. It was extremely useful in maritime trade as well as astrological observations, and was spread throughout Afroeurasia. The integra...

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..., 1734.

A translation of the Quran.

Shahriari, Shahriar. "Arabic/Islamic Mathematics." Encyclopedia of Mathematics & Society. Ed. J. Greenwald Sarah and E. Thomley Jill. 3 vols. Salem Press, 2011. Salem History Web. 05 Mar. 2014. About how the Arabic/Islamic numerals came into play throughout the world.

Tibi S (2005). "Al-Razi and Islamic medicine in the 9th Century." JLL Bulletin: Commentaries on the history of treatment evaluation (www.jameslindlibrary.org). al-Razi and his book on Medicine that preceded Avicenna's as the post popular medical textbook in medieval times.

Vallely, Peter. "How Islamic Inventors Changed the World." The Independent. March 11, 2006. Accessed March 28, 2014. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-islamic-inventors-changed-the-world-469452.html.

A source listing Arabic inventions during the Golden Age of Islam.