C. V. Raman

C. V. Raman
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Name	C. V. Raman
Caption	Raman in 1930
Birth date	7 November 1888
Birth place	Tiruchirappalli, Madras Presidency, British India
Death date	21 November 1970
Death place	Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Fields	Physics
Alma mater	University of Madras (Presidency College)
Known for	Raman scattering
Awards	Nobel Prize in Physics (1930), Bharat Ratna (1954), Lenin Peace Prize (1957)
Spouse	Lokasundari Ammal

C. V. Raman. Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was a preeminent Indian physicist whose groundbreaking work in light scattering earned him global acclaim. His discovery, the Raman effect, provided a new method for analyzing molecular structure and won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930, the first such award in the sciences for an Asian scholar. Throughout his prolific career, he championed scientific research in India, founding the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Raman Research Institute.

Early life and education

Born in Tiruchirappalli in the Madras Presidency, Raman was the second child of Chandrasekhara Ramanathan Iyer, a lecturer in mathematics and physics. He displayed exceptional academic prowess from a young age, completing his secondary education at St. Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School and entering Presidency College in Madras at just thirteen. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1904, standing first and winning gold medals in both physics and English. Despite the lack of advanced research facilities, he published his first paper on diffraction in the Philosophical Magazine while still an M.A. student. In 1907, he married Lokasundari Ammal.

Scientific career and research

Compelled by family circumstances to pursue a stable career, Raman joined the Indian Finance Department in Calcutta as an Assistant Accountant General in 1907. His passion for science remained undimmed, and he conducted pioneering research in acoustics and optics at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science during his spare time. His work on the musical instruments of India and the theory of stringed instruments gained recognition. In 1917, he was appointed the first Palit Professor of Physics at the University of Calcutta, a position that allowed him to dedicate himself fully to research. He mentored a generation of scientists, including K. S. Krishnan, and made significant contributions to the study of X-ray diffraction, colloidal solutions, and the color of the sea.

Raman effect and Nobel Prize

In 1921, during a voyage to Europe, Raman's fascination with the intense blue color of the Mediterranean Sea led him to question the prevailing explanation by Lord Rayleigh, which attributed it solely to Rayleigh scattering. He hypothesized that a molecular diffraction effect was responsible. Back in his laboratory at the University of Calcutta, he and K. S. Krishnan conducted meticulous experiments. On February 28, 1928, they observed that when a monochromatic beam of light traversed a transparent substance, a small fraction of the scattered light shifted to different wavelengths. This phenomenon, demonstrating the inelastic scattering of photons by molecules, became known as the Raman effect. It provided a powerful new tool for studying molecular vibrations and rotations, analogous to infrared spectroscopy. For this discovery, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930, an event celebrated across India as a national achievement.

Later life and legacy

In 1933, Raman moved to Bangalore to become the first Indian director of the Indian Institute of Science. He later established the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1934 and founded the Raman Research Institute in 1948, serving as its director for the remainder of his life. His later research interests expanded to include the physics of crystals, diamonds, and gemstones, as well as the physiology of human vision. He was a staunch advocate for self-reliance in Indian science and a critic of large, government-controlled projects. He passed away in Bangalore in 1970. His legacy endures through the institutes he founded, the annual celebration of National Science Day in India on February 28 to commemorate his discovery, and the enduring application of Raman spectroscopy in fields from chemistry to pharmaceuticals.

Awards and honours

Raman received numerous accolades throughout his illustrious career. Following his Nobel Prize in Physics, he was knighted by the British Raj in 1929, becoming Sir C. V. Raman. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1954. The Soviet Union honored him with the Lenin Peace Prize in 1957. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and served as President of the Indian Science Congress. Many institutions bear his name, including the C. V. Raman Global University and the C. V. Raman College of Engineering. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics have recognized his monumental contribution to science.

Category:Indian physicists Category:Nobel laureates in Physics Category:Recipients of the Bharat Ratna