December 2017 – RAYmaps

December 31, 2017October 13, 2019Fundamentals, History of Science, Random Thoughts

On the Origins of Snell’s Law (Ibn Sahl’s Law)

Most of Physics courses present Snell’s law of refraction in one form or another. But a little known mathematician with the name Ibn Sahl (c. 940–1000) found this law about 650 years before Snell (Willebrord Snellius c. 1580–1626). This mathematical expression was lost for centuries until some scholars recently were able to dig it up from historical records.

December 26, 2017October 13, 2019Fundamentals, History of Science, Random Thoughts, Solar Energy

Ibn al-Haytham – The Father of Optics

Ibn al-Haytham in his book referred to as the Book of Optics (Kitāb al-Manāẓir) postulated that light travels in form of rays in straight lines and these rays are reflected by objects which makes these objects visible when the rays enter the human eye.

December 16, 2017October 13, 2019Fundamentals, History of Science, Random Thoughts

Al Khwarizmi’s Method of Solving Equations in One Variable

Al Khwarizmi was a Muslim scholar who worked under the patronage of emperor Al Mamun in the 9th century in Baghdad. It was here that Greek philosophical and scientific works were translated into Arabic and it was also here that Al Khwarizmi wrote Hisab al-jabr w’al-muqabala (or algebra).

December 10, 2017October 13, 2019Fundamentals, History of Science, Random Thoughts

Al Beruni’s Method for Calculation of Radius of Earth

Al Beruni is most well known for his experiment to calculate the radius of the earth at a location close to Katas Raj in Kallar Kahar region of Pakistan

December 2, 2017December 3, 2017Solar Energy

Calculation of Solar Panel Spacing for India (New Dehli)

I have been asked many times that what is the area required for a solar array with a particular rating (such as 20 KW) and I have given a simple calculation method in one of my earlier post. But real life is never so simple. There are a bunch of inputs that we need to get an exact answer. In particular we want to know what is the required spacing between solar panels so that they are not in shade for a particular part of the day (typically 5 or 6 hours) and for this we need a number of […]