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The Banu Musa brothers ("Sons of Musa") were three 9th century Persian
Persian people

Persian identity, at least in terms of language, is traced to the ancient Indo-Iranians , who arrived in parts of Greater Iran circa 2000-1500 BCE....
 scholars, of Baghdad
Baghdad

Baghdad is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous. With a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq, and the second largest city in the Arab World....
, active in the House of Wisdom
House of Wisdom

The House of Wisdom was a key institution in the Translation Movement - a library and translation institute in Abbassid-era Baghdad, Iraq. It is considered to have been a major intellectual center of the Islamic Golden Age....
: The Banu Musa were the sons of Musa ibn Shakir, who had been a highwayman
Highwayman

The word highwayman is first attested from the year 1617. The term "highwayman" is mainly applied to robbers who travelled on a horse, as opposed to those who robbed on foot ....
 and later an astrologer
Islamic astrology

Islamic astrology, in Arabic ilm al-nujum or ilm al-falak, is the study of the heavens by early Muslims. In early Arabic sources, ilm al-nujum was used to refer to both Astrology and astronomy....
 to the Caliph al-Ma'mun
Al-Ma'mun

Abu Jafar al-Ma'mun ibn Harun was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. He succeeded his brother al-Amin....
. At his death, he left his young sons in the custody of the Caliph, who entrusted them to Ishaq bin Ibrahim al-Mus'abi, a former governor of Baghdad. The education of the three brothers was carried out by Yahya bin Abu Mansur who worked at the famous House of Wisdom
House of Wisdom

The House of Wisdom was a key institution in the Translation Movement - a library and translation institute in Abbassid-era Baghdad, Iraq. It is considered to have been a major intellectual center of the Islamic Golden Age....
 library and translation centre in Baghdad.

Works
Book of Ingenious Devices
The Banu Musa brothers invented a number of automata
Automaton

An automaton is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot....
 (automatic machine
Machine

A machine is any device that uses energy to perform some activity. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work....
s) and mechanical devices, and they described a hundred such devices in their Book of Ingenious Devices.






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The Banu Musa brothers ("Sons of Musa") were three 9th century Persian
Persian people

Persian identity, at least in terms of language, is traced to the ancient Indo-Iranians , who arrived in parts of Greater Iran circa 2000-1500 BCE....
 scholars, of Baghdad
Baghdad

Baghdad is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous. With a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq, and the second largest city in the Arab World....
, active in the House of Wisdom
House of Wisdom

The House of Wisdom was a key institution in the Translation Movement - a library and translation institute in Abbassid-era Baghdad, Iraq. It is considered to have been a major intellectual center of the Islamic Golden Age....
:
  • Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Musa ibn Shakir (before 803 – 873), who specialised in astronomy
    Islamic astronomy

    In the history of astronomy, Islamic astronomy or Arabic astronomy refers to the astronomical developments made in the Islamic world, particularly during the Islamic Golden Age , and mostly written in the Arabic language....
    , engineering, geometry
    Geometry

    Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers....
     and physics
    Islamic physics

    Islamic physics refers to the study of physics within Islamic science, which flourished during the Islamic Golden Age, variously dated from the 8th century to the 16th century, when experimental physics, mathematical physics and theoretical physics were studied in the Muslim world....
    .
  • Ahmad ibn Musa ibn Shakir (803 – 873) , who specialised in engineering and mechanics
    Mechanics

    Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behaviour of physical body when subjected to forces or Displacement , and the subsequent effect of the bodies on their environment....
    .
  • Al-Hasan ibn Musa ibn Shakir (810 – 873) , who specialised in engineering and geometry.
The Banu Musa were the sons of Musa ibn Shakir, who had been a highwayman
Highwayman

The word highwayman is first attested from the year 1617. The term "highwayman" is mainly applied to robbers who travelled on a horse, as opposed to those who robbed on foot ....
 and later an astrologer
Islamic astrology

Islamic astrology, in Arabic ilm al-nujum or ilm al-falak, is the study of the heavens by early Muslims. In early Arabic sources, ilm al-nujum was used to refer to both Astrology and astronomy....
 to the Caliph al-Ma'mun
Al-Ma'mun

Abu Jafar al-Ma'mun ibn Harun was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. He succeeded his brother al-Amin....
. At his death, he left his young sons in the custody of the Caliph, who entrusted them to Ishaq bin Ibrahim al-Mus'abi, a former governor of Baghdad. The education of the three brothers was carried out by Yahya bin Abu Mansur who worked at the famous House of Wisdom
House of Wisdom

The House of Wisdom was a key institution in the Translation Movement - a library and translation institute in Abbassid-era Baghdad, Iraq. It is considered to have been a major intellectual center of the Islamic Golden Age....
 library and translation centre in Baghdad.

Works


Book of Ingenious Devices


The Banu Musa brothers invented a number of automata
Automaton

An automaton is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot....
 (automatic machine
Machine

A machine is any device that uses energy to perform some activity. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work....
s) and mechanical devices, and they described a hundred such devices in their Book of Ingenious Devices. Some of these inventions include:

  • Valve
    Valve

    A valve is a device that regulates the flow of a fluid by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically pipe Piping and plumbing fittings, but are usually discussed as a separate category....
     and plug valve
    Plug valve

    Plug valves are valves with cylindrical or conically-tapered "plugs" which can be rotated inside the valve body to control flow through the valve....
  • Float valve
    Float valve

    A float valve is a mechanical feedback mechanism that regulates fluid level by using a float to drive an inlet valve so that a higher fluid level will force the valve closed while a lower fluid level will force the valve open....
  • Feedback controller
    Control theory

    Control theory is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering and mathematics, that deals with the behavior of dynamical systems. The desired output of a system is called the reference....
  • Automatic
    Automaton

    An automaton is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot....
     flute
    Flute

    The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
     player
  • Programmable
    Computer programming

    Computer programming is the process of writing, testing, debugging/troubleshooting, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in a programming language....
     machine
    Machine

    A machine is any device that uses energy to perform some activity. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work....
  • Mechanical trick devices
    Mechanical puzzle

    A mechanical puzzle is a puzzle presented as a set of mechanically interlinked pieces....
  • Hurricane lamp
  • Self-trimming lamp
    Lamp (electrical component)

    A lamp is a replaceable component such as an incandescent light bulb, which is designed to produce light from electricity. These components usually have a base of ceramic, metal, glass or plastic, which makes an electrical connection in the socket of a light fixture....
     (Ahmad ibn Musa ibn Shakir)
  • Self-feeding lamp
  • Gas mask
    Gas mask

    A gas mask is a mask worn over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling "airborne pollutants" and toxic gasses. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face....
  • Grab
    Grab (tool)

    A grab is a mechanical device with two or more jaws, used to pick things up or to capture things. Some types include:*Roundnose grab*Clamshell grab...
  • Clamshell grab
  • Fail-safe
    Fail-safe

    Fail-safe or fail-secure describes a device or feature which, in the event of Failure mode, responds in a way that will cause no harm or at least a minimum of harm to other devices or danger to personnel....
     system
  • Differential pressure
    Pressure sensor

    A pressure sensor measures pressure, typically of gases or liquids. Pressure is an expression of the force required to stop a fluid from expanding, and is usually stated in terms of force per unit area....


The Banu Musa also invented "the earliest known mechanical musical instrument
Musical box

A musical box is a 19th century automatic musical instrument that produces sounds by the use of a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc so as to strike the tuned teeth of a comb....
", in this case a hydropower
Hydropower

Hydropower, hydraulic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of moving water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes....
ed organ
Organ (music)

The organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard played either Manual or Pedal clavier. The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the European classical music....
 which played interchangeable cylinders automatically. According to Charles B. Fowler, this "cylinder with raised pins on the surface remained the basic device to produce and reproduce music mechanically until the second half of the nineteenth century." The Banu Musa also invented an automatic
Automaton

An automaton is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot....
 flute
Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
 player which appears to have been the first programmable machine
Program (machine)

A program is list of instructions written in a programming language that is used to control the behavior of a machine, often a computer .Examples of programs include:...
.

Book on the motion of the orbs

In physics
Islamic physics

Islamic physics refers to the study of physics within Islamic science, which flourished during the Islamic Golden Age, variously dated from the 8th century to the 16th century, when experimental physics, mathematical physics and theoretical physics were studied in the Muslim world....
 and astronomy
Islamic astronomy

In the history of astronomy, Islamic astronomy or Arabic astronomy refers to the astronomical developments made in the Islamic world, particularly during the Islamic Golden Age , and mostly written in the Arabic language....
, Muhammad ibn Musa was a pioneer of astrophysics
Astrophysics

Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of astronomical objects such as galaxy, stars, planets, exoplanets, and the interstellar medium, as well as their interactions....
 and celestial mechanics
Celestial mechanics

Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motion s of celestial objects. The field applies principles of physics, historically classical mechanics, to astronomical objects such as stars and planets to produce ephemeris data....
. In the Book on the motion of the orbs, he was the first to discover that the heavenly bodies
Astronomical object

s are significant entity, associations or structures which current science has confirmed to exist in outer space. This does not necessarily mean that more current science will not disprove their existence....
 and celestial sphere
Celestial sphere

In astronomy and navigation, the celestial sphere is an imagination rotation sphere of "gigantic radius", concentric spheres and coaxial with the Earth....
s were subject to the same laws of physics
Physical law

A physical law or scientific law is a scientific generalization based on empiricism observations of physical behavior . Laws of nature are observable....
 as Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
, unlike the ancients who believed that the celestial spheres followed their own set of physical laws different from that of Earth.

Astral Motion and The Force of Attraction

In mechanics
Mechanics

Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behaviour of physical body when subjected to forces or Displacement , and the subsequent effect of the bodies on their environment....
 and astronomy, Muhammad ibn Musa, in his Astral Motion and The Force of Attraction, discovered that there was a force
Force

In physics, a force is that which can cause an object with mass to change its velocity. Force has both Euclidean_vector#Length of a vector and Direction , making it a Vector quantity....
 of attraction
Gravitation

Gravitation is a natural phenomenon that gives weight to objects. In everyday life, attraction due to gravity is the result of the presence of relatively large bodies, such as the Earth and the Moon....
 between heavenly bodies, foreshadowing Newton's law of universal gravitation
Newton's law of universal gravitation

Isaac Newton's law of universal gravitation is an empirical physical law describing the gravitational attraction between bodies with mass. It is a part of classical mechanics and was first formulated in Newton's work Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, first published on July 5 1687....
.

On mechanics

Ahmad (c. 805) specialised in mechanics
Mechanics

Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behaviour of physical body when subjected to forces or Displacement , and the subsequent effect of the bodies on their environment....
 and wrote a work on pneumatic devices called On mechanics.

Premises of the book of conics

The eldest brother, Ja'far Mu?ammad, wrote a critical revision on Apollonius
Apollonius of Perga

Apollonius of Perga [Pergaeus] was a Greeks geometer and astronomer noted for his writings on conic sections. His innovative methodology and terminology, especially in the field of conics, influenced many later scholars including Ptolemy, Francesco Maurolico, Isaac Newton, and Ren? Descartes....
' Conics, called the Premises of the book of conics.

The Book of the Measurement of Plane and Spherical Figures

The Banu Musa's most famous mathematical treatise
Islamic mathematics

Mathematics in medieval Islam or sometimes referred to as Islamic mathematics is a term used in the history of mathematics that refers to the mathematics developed in the Muslim world between 622 and 1600, in the part of the world where Islam was the dominant religion....
 is The Book of the Measurement of Plane and Spherical Figures, which considered similar problems as Archimedes
Archimedes

Archimedes of Syracuse was a Greek mathematics, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity....
 did in his On the Measurement of the Circle and On the Sphere and the Cylinder.

The elongated circular figure

The youngest brother, al-Hasan (c. 810), specialised in geometry and wrote a work on the ellipse
Ellipse

In mathematics, an ellipse is the apparent shape of a circle viewed obliquely from outside it, as distinct from a hyperbola which is the shape seen from inside....
 called The elongated circular figure.

See also

  • Inventions in the Muslim world
  • Islamic Golden Age
    Islamic Golden Age

    The Islamic Golden Age, also sometimes known as the Islamic Renaissance, was traditionally dated from the 700 A.D. to 1200 A.D.Common Era, but has been extended to the 15th and 16th centuries by some scholars....
  • Islamic science
    Islamic science

    Science in medival Islam, also known as Islamic science, is a term used in the history of science to refer to the science developed in the Muslim world between 7th and 16th centuries, a period also known as the Islamic Golden Age....
  • Islamic astronomy
    Islamic astronomy

    In the history of astronomy, Islamic astronomy or Arabic astronomy refers to the astronomical developments made in the Islamic world, particularly during the Islamic Golden Age , and mostly written in the Arabic language....
  • Islamic mathematics
    Islamic mathematics

    Mathematics in medieval Islam or sometimes referred to as Islamic mathematics is a term used in the history of mathematics that refers to the mathematics developed in the Muslim world between 622 and 1600, in the part of the world where Islam was the dominant religion....