C V Raman

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman One of the most prominent Indian scientists in history,
was the first Indian person to win the Nobel Prize in science for his illustrious in 1930
for the discovery 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.It is immensely surprising that Raman used an equipment
worth merely Rs.200 to make this discovery. The Raman Effect is now examined with
the help of equipment worth almost millions of rupees.

Venkata Raman was born at Trichinopoly in Southern India on November 7th, 1888.
His father was a lecturer in mathematics and physics so that from the first he was
immersed in an academic atmosphere. He entered Presidency College, Madras, in 1902,
and in 1904 passed his B.A. examination, winning the first place and the gold medal
inphysics; in 1907 he gained his M.A. degree, obtaining the highest distinctions.
In 1917, Raman resigned from his government service after he was appointed the first
Palit Professor of Physics at the University of Calcutta. At the same time, he continued
doing research at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Calcutta,
where he became the Honorary Secretary.

Scientific discoveries:

Raman and Bhagavantam discovered the quantum photon spin in 1932, which further 

confirmed the quantum nature of light.Raman also worked on the acoustics of 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 1948, Raman, 

through studying the spectroscopic behaviour of crystals, approached in a new manner 

fundamental problems of crystal dynamics. He dealt with the structure and properties 

of diamond, the structure and optical behaviour of numerous iridescent substances 

(labradorite, pearly feldspar, agate, opal, and pearls). Among his other interests were the 

optics of colloids, electrical and magnetic anisotropy, and the physiology of human vision.

On a sea voyage to Europe in 1921, Raman curiously noticed the blue color of the glaciers 

and the Mediterranean. He was passionate to discover the reason of the blue color.
Raman has been 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 was knighted in 1929.

Sir Venkata Raman died on November 21, 1970  due to a heart attack.