Great physicist and Nobel Laureate, CV Raman was born on November 7th, 1888 in Tiruchirappalli in Southern India. This year we are celebrating the 131st birth anniversary of one of the most prominent scientists.
He made the ground-breaking discovery called Raman effect; it is the change in wavelength, which occurs when a light beam is deflected by a molecule.
C.V. Raman was an outstanding physicist of his time and made great contributions to the human world. But this is sad to say that not much is known about his life beyond his work in science. On his birth anniversary, we are presenting some important information about his life that you should know.
As mentioned earlier, Raman belongs to Tiruchirappalli, Southern India. His father was a lecturer in mathematics and physics. That is why, Raman was immersed in an academic atmosphere. In academics, he got a Bachelor's degree in physic at the Society of the Promotion of the Gospel College.
After their studies, he joined the same college as a lecturer. Then, he went on to clear his MBA and then joined the government service. In 1933, Raman became a professional at the Indian Institute of Science. He was also elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1924 and was knighted in 1929.
There, Raman started his experiments for studying the scattering of light; and hence introduced Raman Spectroscopy for observing the rotational, vibrational, and other low-frequency modes in a system.
It is mainly used in chemical laboratories and works as the fingerprint for the substance from which the light scatters.
Apart from his amazing discoveries in physics, Raman was instrumental in setting up many prominent Indian research institutes. In 1947, Raman was named as the director f the Raman Research Institute.
When Raman was 42 years old, he won the Nobel Prize in physics for this discovery in 1930 and became the first Asian to receive the prize in the field of science.
Additionally, Raman has been honored with many honorary doctorates and memberships of scientific societies. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society early in his career and was knighted in 1929.
Apart from awards and prizes, Raman was awarded the biggest Indian reward, Bharat Ratna in 1954 and the Lenin Peace Prize (1957).
Every year, 28th February is celebrated in India as National Science Day to commemorate Raman's discovery in 1928.
The importance and impact of Raman are remarkable. That's the reason, the pictures of C. V. Raman, his father Chandrasekaran, and Professor Jones (Raman's physics professor) hang at the entrance of the lecture hall of the Physics Department of Presidency College.
On October 2, 1970, Raman gave his last Gandhi Memorial Lecture, on the Cochlea and the perception of sound. On November 21, 1970, he passed away from natural causes in the early morning.
Even after death, Raman is remembered for his contribution and legacy. Raman spectroscopy that uses the Raman Effect is a vital tool to identify a wider range of complex materials such as biological organisms and human tissue.
