National Science Day 2020: 10 Interesting Facts about Nobel Laureate CV Raman

India celebrates National Science Day every year on February 28 to commemorate Indian physicist CV Raman discovering the ‘Raman effect’, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman or CV Raman was fascinated with the scattering of light since his early years. Born on November 7, 1888, in Tamil Nadu, Raman discovered the change in wavelength of light that is seen when a beam of light is deflected by molecules.

This scattering phenomenon was later termed as ‘Raman scattering’ or the ‘Raman effect’.

On the occasion National Science Day, let’s look at some of the interesting facts about CV Raman

1. Raman was exceptional in studies; he passed the matriculation at only 11 years of age. Two years later, he passed the Intermediate-level of exam and joined the Presidency College in 1902.

2. In 1904, Raman got his bachelor’s degree, earning the first rank and gold medal in Physics. After three years, he completed his Masters’ Degree.

3. Despite having booked a government service job in the Finance Department of Colonial government, CV Raman quit the job after being appointed as the first Palit Professor of Physics at the University of Calcutta in 1917.

4. While teaching at University of Calcutta, he was simultaneously conducting research at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) in Calcutta.

5. It was in IACS that Raman was carrying out experiments on scattering of light and ended up discovering the Raman Effect in 1928.

6. Raman won the Knight Bachelor award a year later and became a Fellow of the Royal Society thereafter.

7. In 1932, Raman along with Suri Bhagavantam discovered quantum photon spin, further confirming light’s quantum nature.

8. He was also the first person to study the harmonic nature of mridangam and tabla as he was interested in musical instruments’ acoustics.

9. CV Raman was appointed to be the first Indian director of Indian Institute of Science (IIS) in 1933.

10. After India gained independence in 1947, Raman became the first National Professor of the country.