C.V. Raman

C.V. Raman

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (or C.V. Raman), was born on 7th November 1888 in Thiruvanaikaval, Trichinopoly, present-day Tiruchirapalli. The innovative work of this legend from India, in the field of scattering of light earned him Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930.

Education

C.V. Raman studied in St. Aloysius Anglo-Indian High School in Vishakhapatnam. He completed his metric education at the age of 11 years and intermediate at the age of 13 years. In 1902, Raman joined Presidency College in Madras to do his further studies. And in 1904, he passed his B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) as gold medalist in Physics. Later, in 1907 he completed his M.A. (Master of Arts) degree with the highest distinctions.

Career

He started his career by working in government sector, but in 1917 he left that work after he got chance to be the first Palit Professor of Physics at the University of Calcutta. At the same time he continued his research at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Calcutta, there he became the Honorary Secretary. This was the time when he did all the innovations related to light in physics. During this period he did Noble Prize winning work. He discovered that, when light traverses a transparent material, some of the deflected light changes in wavelength. This phenomenon is now called Raman scattering and is the result of the Raman Effect. In 1954, he was honored with the highest civilian award in India, the Bharat Ratna.

At the End

CV Raman experienced a major heart attack during the last of October in 1970, while working in his laboratory. After the attack he was referred to hospital where after living some days, he refused to stay there and said that he wanted to die in the garden of his Institute called Raman Research Institute. And there he took his last breath on 21st November 1970.

Awards and Honors

● He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society early in his career (1924) and knighted in 1929.

● In 1930 he won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

● In 1941 he was awarded the Franklin Medal.

● In 1954 he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, highest civilian award in India

● He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in 1957.

● In 1998, the American Chemical Society and Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science recognised Raman's discovery as an International Historic Chemical Landmark.

● India celebrates National Science Day on 28 February of every year to commemorate the discovery of the Raman effect in 1928 in his honour.