National Science Day...

Dr. C.V. Raman

Date of Issue -12 November 1971

28 February is celebrated in India as Natioanl Science Day. Scores of research institutions in the country celebrate ‘Science Day’ on February 28 to commemorate the Nobel Prize won by eminent scientist Dr C V Raman . This day is celebrated to raise a toast to the cutting-edge work done in the field of science, it is also meant to create curiosity in young minds. Besides being a day when young minds get to see novel scientific achievements, the Science Day has become synonymous with showcasing the country’s prowess in the field. It is a special day in Schools, Colleges and Scientific Institutions of the country to pay tributes to great scientist of India Dr.C.V. Raman. This Post is dedicated to all the persons associated with the field of science and a Philatelic tribute to Great Physicist of India - Dr. C. V. Raman.

National Science day is celebrated every year on 28th Feb. - the day when Raman’s effect was invented by Prof C.V.Raman at Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Banglore.

DR. C.V. Raman
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman,(7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970) was an Indian physicist and Nobel laureate in physics recognised for his work on the molecular scattering of light and for the discovery of the Raman effect, which is named after him.

Chandrashekhara Venkata Raman was born to a Hindu Brahmin family in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu. . His father was a lecturer in mathematics and physics, so he grew up in an academic atmosphere. His nephew Subramanyan Chandrasekhar also won the Nobel Prize in Physics, in 1983. Raman entered Presidency College, Madras, in 1902, and in 1904 gained his B.Sc., winning the first place and the gold medal in physics. In 1907 he gained his M.Sc., obtaining the highest distinctions. He joined the Indian Finance Department as an Assistant Accountant General in Calcutta. In 1917 Raman resigned from his government service and took up the newly created Palit Professorship in Physics at the University of Calcutta.

On February 28, 1928, through his experiments on the scattering of light, he discovered the Raman effect. It was instantly clear that this discovery was an important one. He won the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after him". He was the first Asian and first non-White to get any Nobel Prize in Science. Before him Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore had received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Raman also worked on the acousticsof musical instruments. He worked out the theory of transverse vibration of bowed strings, on the basis of superposition velocities. He was also the first to investigate the harmonic nature of the sound of the Indian drums such as the tabla and the mridangam.

In 1934 Raman became the director of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, where two years later he continued as a professor of physics. Raman retired from the Indian Institute of Science in 1948 and a year later he established the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore Karnataka, serving as its director and remained active there until his death in 1970, in Bangalore, at the age of 82.

Honours and awards

Raman was honoured with a large number of honorary doctorates and memberships of scientific societies. He was elected 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 1954 he was awarded the Bharat Ratna. He was also awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in 1957.

Note - There is controversy where Raman's Effect was invented, in Calcutta or Bangalore ?? Please go through following links...

http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_ARTICLEMAIN&node_id=924&content_id=WPCP_007605&use_sec=true&sec_url_var=region1

http://preview.interlockingmedia.com/acslandmarks/landmarks/raman/desig.html

http://www.dailynews365.com/national-news/today-is-the-national-science-day/