A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v2.c34.273

v2.c34.273

The magnitude of a Paramánu is called Pári-mádualya (पारिमाडल्य) in the Nyáya-Vaiseshika, the name suggesting that the Paramánus were conceived to be spherical in shape. The Nyáya-Vaiseshika calls a Paramánu a mere point without any dimensions, but in the Sánkhya-Pátañjala, a Paramánu, though indefinitely small, had still dimensions, being divisible into Tanmátras, which were themselves integrations of Bhútádi. The diameter of a spherical Paramánu must have been conceived to be less than 3.2⁻²⁰ of an inch (i.e. less than the conventional Paramánu with which linear measures begin), and the volume of a Paramánu would therefore, in accordance with Bháskara's formula, be smaller than 4/3 π.3³.2⁻⁶³ or π.3².2⁻⁶¹ of a cubic inch where π = 3927/1250. The Tanmátras were conceived as smaller still.