Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman - A Legend of Modern Indian Science : 1.

SIR PROFESSOR CHANDRASHEKHARA VENKATA RAMAN WAS popularly known as Professor C.V.Raman.He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930 for his outstanding discovery of the scattering of light.All his life Raman worked for the cause of scientific development in India.


Raman was an exceptionally brilliant boy right from his childhood.He passed all school and college examinations with flying colors and completed his Master’s degree when he was 17-year old.Raman was awarded a gold medal for securing the highest marks in the Master’s degree in 1907.


Raman wanted to take the Indian Civil Services(ICS) exams but in those days ICS examinations were not conducted in India,all of  the candidates had to go to England to sit for the examination.Raman too wanted to attend the ICS examination,but his poor financial circumstances did not allow him to do so.Raman decided to attend Financial Civil Service(FCS) instead.


Raman secured high marks and got through the interview.He was then posted to Calcutta as an Assistant Accountant-General where he remained for ten years.During this period Raman was also active in scientific research and experiments.He published more than 30 well-researched papers in several prestigious science journals when he was in the government service.


A turning point came in Raman’s life when he was offered Palit Chair for Physics by Sir Asutosh Mookerjee,the Vice-Chancellor of the Calcutta University.Raman accepted the offer and joined the Calcutta University,and Raman’s ten years of government service ended in this way.Raman was a dedicated scientist,all his life Raman worked for the scientific development of India.It was Raman who truly laid down the foundations of modern science in India.In the latter half of his life Raman was elected a fellow of the Royal Society,London.The Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to Raman in 1930,and he was also knighted by the British Government in India in 1929 at the age of 41.


Raman is remembered for his major contributions in the field of vibration and sound,musical instruments,ultrasonic,diffraction,metrological and colloid optics photo-electricity,x-ray diffraction,magnetism,dielectrics and the Raman Effect.

To be continued  ...