Al-Muradi(11th century)
See Abu Jafar al-Muradi for the Egyptian grammarian.
Alī Ibn Khalaf al-Murādī, (11th
century) Al-Andalus,
was a Mechanical engineer and
author of the unique technological manuscript entitled Kitāb al-asrār fī natā'ij al-afkār (The Book of Secrets in the Results
of Thoughts).[1] It was
copied and used at the court of Alfonso VI of León and Castile in
Christian Spain in the 11th century.[citation needed]
The manuscript provides information about a "Castle and
Gazelle Clock" and many other forms of complicated clocks and ingenious
devices. Al-Muradi was a contemporary ofAbū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī.[citation needed]
In 2008, the Book of Secrets of al-Muradi has been published in
facsimile, translated in English/Italian/French/Arabic and in electronic
edition with all machines interpreted in 3D, by the Italian study center
Leonardo3.
He also devised, with help from al-Zarqali, the universal astrolabe.[2] Both
al-Muradi and al-Zarqali's design were included in the Libros del Saber (1227) of Alfonso X of Castile.[3]
During the period of Islamic-Arabic
extraordinary activity in Science and Technology (9th-13th century), there are
some recorded contributions to the area of Automatic Control mainly in the
development of water clocks using float valve regulators, different level
controls using float valves or combination of syphons and the development of
On-Off control. In this short survey, Professor Dr Mohamed Mansour, former
Professor of Control Engineering At ETH Zürich surveys the subject by
investigating the words of Banu Musa, Al-Muradi, Ridhwan al-Sa'ati and
Al-Jazari.
During the period of Islamic-Arabic
extraordinary activity in Science and Technology (9th-13th century), there are
some recorded contributions to the area of Automatic Control mainly in the
development of water clocks using float valve regulators, different level
controls using float valves or combination of syphons and the development of
On-Off control.
The Islamic Arabic Automatic Control
Technology had as a basis the Greek Technology of two scientists, namely Philon
of Byzantium (Rhodes and Alexandria) of the second half of the third century
BCE (his book, the Pneumatica was translated from Arabic into French
and German in 1902 and 1899 respectively), and Heron of Alexandria of the first
century CE (his book the Peumatica was translated into English and German
in 1851 and 1899 respectively).
It is noted in Greek technology the language
is Greek but the scientists need not be Greek as in the case with
Islamic-Arabic technology.
It is known that there are hundreds of
thousands of manuscripts dealing with Islamic Science and Technology to be
edited and it is assumed that some of them deal with technology. This report is
based on the following references [1-6].
1. Automatic Control in Water
Clocks
1.1. "The work of Archimedes
on the Building of Clocks"
This is an Arabic book whose Arabic author is
called pseudo-Archimedes with the earliest reference to it in theFihrist of Al-Nadim (died 955 CE). From the
literary style and the technique of its drawings, this clock book seems to be
an Islamic work based on Greek-Roman technology as mentioned in [1].
This clock used a float level regulator, which makes it a feedback device. A
large float drove the whole apparatus. The description of the complicated clock
is so thorough that it could be reconstructed almost completely. This book did
have considerable influence on the two great chorological books of Al-Jazari and
Ibn Al-Sa'ati and other Arabic authors like Ibn Al-Akfani.
1.
2. "Al-Jami bayna Al-Ilm wa 'l-'amal al-nafi' fi sina'at al-hiyal by
Al-Jazari
This book [5] was written in 1206. Al-Jazari is from
Al-Jazira, the area between Tigris and Euphrates. Sarton[6] mentions: "This treatise is the most
elaborate of its kind and may be considered the climax of this line of Muslim
achievement". "The distinctive feature of the book is its practical
aspect. The book is rich in minute description of various kinds of devices.
Hill maintains: "It is impossible to over-emphasize the importance of
Al-Jazari`s work in the history of engineering. Until modern times, there is no
other document from any cultural area that provides a comparable wealth of
instructions for the design, manufacture and assembly of machines. Al-Jazari
did not only assimilate the techniques of his non-Arab and Arab predecessors,
he was also creative. He added several mechanical and hydraulic devices. The
impact of these inventions can be seen in the later designing of steam engines
and internal combustion engines, paving the way for automatic control and other
modern machinery. The impact of Al-Jazari`s inventions is still felt in modern
contemporary mechanical engineering [3]."
Hill [4] translated the book into English in 1974. A German
translation was made in 1915. The chapter on water clocks describes 10 water
clocks, the first two of them use float valve regulators. The various
time-indicating mechanisms are propelled by a float. The other clocks are
regulated differently. Al-Jazari mentions an old machine, which he inspected,
in which a musical automaton was powered by a vertical water wheel. In his
comments on this machine, he clearly implies that he knew how to control the
speed of such a wheel by means of an escapement.
1.3.
"Book on the Construction of Clocks and their Use" by Ridwan
b.Muhammad Al-Saati Al-Khurasani (1203)
This book
describes the monumental water clock built by Ridwan`s father at the Jayrun
gate in Damascus. A German translation was made in 1915. A large float drives
the clock, float valve regulator and the device for varying the length of the
hours are incorporated.
1.4.
"The Book of Secrets about the Results of Thoughts" by Al-Muradi of
Andalusia (11th century)
This is
the earliest description in Arabic of water clocks. This book deals with water
clocks and other devices using automata. The treatise consists of 31 models of
which 5 are essentially very large toys similar to clocks, in that automata are
caused to move at intervals, but without precise timing. The prime movers are
water wheels that can be overshot or undershot depending on the intensity of
flow. There are nineteen clocks, all of which record the passage of the
temporal hours by the movements of automata. The power came from large outflow
clepsydras provided with concentric siphons. This power was transmitted to
automata by very sophisticated mechanisms, which included segmental and epicyclic
gears and the use of mercury. These are highly significant features; they
provide the first known examples of complex gearing used to transmit high
torque, while the adoption of mercury reappears in European clocks from the
thirteenth century onwards.
Unfortunately,
the only known manuscript of this work is badly defaced and it is not possible
to understand exactly how the clocks worked. A weight driven clock with a
mercury escapement appears in "Libros del Saber", a work written in
Spanish at the court of Alfonsos of Castille about 1277 and consisting of
translations and paraphrases of Arabic works. A novel feature in this treatise
is the use of mercury in balances. Al-Zarquali built two large water clocks on
the banks of the river Tagus at Toledo in 11th century [2].
Figure 5: The musical robot band designed by
al-Jazari. (Source).
|
1.5.
"Kitab Mizan Al-Hikma (The Book on the Balance of Wisdom)",
Al-Khazini (1121-1122)
The
eighth treatise of this work described two steelyard clepsydras. The main one,
called the Universal Balance, was designed for 24-hour operation, and consisted
of an iron beam divided into unequal arms by a fulcrum. An outflow clepsydra
equipped with a syphon was suspended on the end of the short arm, and two
movable weights, one large and one small, were suspended from the long arm, which
was graduated into scales. As water discharged from the clepsydra, the weights
were moved along the scale to keep the beam in balance. At any moment the hour
of the day could be to minutes from the position of the small one.
Figure 6: Two pages from the manuscript of
Al-Muradi Kitab al-asrar fi
nata'ij al-afkarpreserved at the Biblioteca Medicea-Laurentiana in
Florence, Italy, MS Or 152. Note the damaged state of the manuscript. Source:
Eduard Farré Olivé, La
clepsidra de las Gacelas del manuscrito de relojes de Al-Muradi, Arte
y Hora, March-April 1998, N°. 128-H11, pp. 10-18.
|
2.
Automatic Control of Banu Musa
Kitab
al-Hiyal (The Book of Ingenious Devices) is a
mechanical writing by Banu Musa bin Shakir (9th century). The three sons of
Musa organized translation and did original work in "Bayt Al-Hikma"
(House of Wisdom) which was the science academy in Baghdad, the greatest
scientific institution since the Museum and Library of Alexandria. Banu Musa
were supporters of the translation movement which gathered momentum as that
important epoch of the Islamic scientific awakening reached fruition in the 9th
century. They extended their patronage to Thabit Ibn Qurra, to Hunayn Ibn Ishaq
and to many other translators and scholars. They left more than 20 works which
are known, including the seminal engineering book "Kitab Al-Hiyal"
translated into English by Donald Hill in 1979 and parts of it into German by
Wiedemann and Hauser in 1918 and Hauser in 1922. The book was edited in Arabic
by Ahmad Al-Hassan in 1981.
The
written Arabic heritage in mechanical technology begins with the Banu Musa
book. It is possible they knew Heron's Mechanics written in Alexandria in the first
century and translated by Qusta Ibn Luqa at the time of Banu Musa. Hero‘s other
books may have been known to the brothers, for he enjoyed great fame among
Arabic scholars in the 10th century.
Banu Musa
describe one hundred ingenious devices. Hill identified twenty five devices
resembling the ones of Heron's and Philon's books. There exist also other parts
of the Banu Musa machines which resemble certain elements in Hero and Philo
work. There are Banu Musa machines which bear no resemblance to either Hero or
Philo. These include the fountains and dredging machine designed to salvage
submerged objects from the bottom of rivers and seas and so on. Banu Musa made
use primarily of the principles of the science of hydrostatics and aerostatics.
They used automatic valves, delayed-action systems and their application of the
principles of automatic control testify of creative mentality. Hill notes the
use of crankshafts for the first time in the history of technology.
In two
models, they used a mechanism similar to the modern crankshaft, thus
outstripping by 500 years the first description of the crankshaft in Europe.
Mayr [1] mentions
that they used syphons, float valves, Philon`s oil lamp, water wheels, etc.
Some control systems work with nonmoving parts combining the principle of
Philon`s oil lamp with some cleverly arranged syphons. They have contributions
in technological refinements and new applications. They install throttling
valves directly in the pipe requiring no constant force to keep them closed.
These appear first in the book of Banu Musa. Also they introduce improvements
on Philon`s oil lamp by ingenious combination of syphons added to the original
system. Most important is the use of On-Off control with upper and lower limit
for the controlled variable. Systems of this class are widely used in modern
technology. The float valve used by Banu Musa, Al-Jazari and other Arabic
engineers emerges again in the middle of the 18th century in Europe and in
England.
Ali Ibn Khalaf al-Muradi was a Mechanical engineer and
author of the treatise "The Book of Secrets about the Results of
Thoughts". This treatise is the earliest description in Arabic of water
clocks. This book deals with water clocks and other devices using automata. The
treatise consists of 31 models of which 5 are essentially very large toys
similar to clocks, in that automata are caused to move at intervals, but
without precise timing. The prime movers are water wheels that can be overshot
or undershot depending on the intensity of flow. There are nineteen clocks, all
of which record the passage of the temporal hours by the movements of automata.
The power came from large outflow clepsydras provided with concentric siphons.
This power was transmitted to automata by very sophisticated mechanisms, which
included segmental and epicyclic gears and the use of mercury. These are highly
significant features; they provide the first known examples of complex gearing
used to transmit high torque, while the adoption of mercury reappears in
European clocks from the thirteenth century onwards.
Unfortunately, the only known manuscript of this work is
badly defaced and it is not possible to understand exactly how the clocks
worked. A weight driven clock with a mercury escapement appears in "Libros
del Saber", a work written in Spanish at the court of Alfonsos of Castille
about 1277 and consisting of translations and paraphrases of Arabic works. A
novel feature in this treatise is the use of mercury in balances. Al-Zarquali
built two large water clocks on the banks of the river Tagus at Toledo in 11th
century.
[2] Ahmad
Y.Al-Hassan & Donald R.Hill, Islamic Technology.
Cambridge University Press and Unesco, 1986.
[4] Banu
Musa, The Book of Ingenious Devices. An Annotated Translation
of the Treatise of Banu Musa by Donald R. Hill. Dordrecht: Reidel,
1979; reprinted in Islamabad, 1989. The Arabic text of this treatise was edited
by Ahmad Y. Al-Hassan: Banu Musa, Kitab Al-Hiyal, Aleppo:
Publications of the Institute for the History of Arabic Science, University of
Aleppo, 1981.
[5] Al-Jazari, Al-Jami'
bayna al-'ilm wa-'l-'amal al-nafi' fi sina'at al-hiyal (A Compendium on the
Theory and Practice of the Mechanical Arts) by Ibn Al-Razzaz Al-Jazari (1206),
edited by Ahmad Y.Al-Hassan, University of Aleppo,1979.
*
Professor Dr. Mohamed Mansour was Emeritus Professor of Control Engineering at
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland from
September 1968 until September 1993. His fields of interest are control
systems, especially stability theory and digital control, stability of power
systems, and digital filters. He has published about 200 scientific papers,
edited 6 books and supervised 47 Ph.D Students. See Prof. Dr.Mohamed Mansour: Publications and Curriculum Vitae
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