C. V. Raman

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was an Indian <a href="/facts/Physicist/cQcgvSIm">physicist</a> known for his work in the field of <a href="/facts/Light_scattering/nMou7lEH">light scattering</a>. Using a <a href="/facts/Spectrograph/BjshQbA8">spectrograph</a> that he developed, he and his student <a href="/facts/K._S._Krishnan/spDkbxSl">K. S. Krishnan</a> discovered that when light traverses a transparent material, the deflected light changes its <a href="/facts/Wavelength/kcJU0ymz">wavelength</a>. This phenomenon, a hitherto unknown type of scattering of light, which they called modified scattering was subsequently termed the Raman effect or <a href="/facts/Raman_scattering/obhSpgrR">Raman scattering</a>. In 1930, Raman received the <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics/o6w1nCbr">Nobel Prize in Physics</a> for this discovery and was the first Asian and non-White to receive a <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize/3z1Y3oFL">Nobel Prize</a> in any branch of science.
Born to <a href="/facts/Tamil_Brahmin/yldRB9qm">Tamil Brahmin</a> parents, Raman was a <a href="/facts/Child_prodigy/9kEm7W4L">precocious child</a>, completing his secondary and higher secondary education from <a href="/facts/St_Aloysius%2527_Anglo-Indian_High_School/4oX5etP4">St Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School</a> at the age of 11 and 13, respectively. He topped the <a href="/facts/Bachelor%2527s_degree/s739u69z">bachelor's degree</a> examination of the <a href="/facts/University_of_Madras/vvlyBhKI">University of Madras</a> with honours in physics from <a href="/facts/Presidency_College%2c_Chennai/TNrS7uSY">Presidency College</a> at age 16. His first research paper, on <a href="/facts/Diffraction_of_light/Mk80xXHT">diffraction of light</a>, was published in 1906 while he was still a graduate student. The next year he obtained a master's degree. He joined the <a href="/facts/Indian_Audit_and_Accounts_Service/3Jbdx6mq">Indian Finance Service</a> in <a href="/facts/Kolkata/k0HVgEYm">Calcutta</a> as Assistant Accountant General at age 19. There he became acquainted with the <a href="/facts/Indian_Association_for_the_Cultivation_of_Science/2r7uBItj">Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science</a> (IACS), the first research institute in India, which allowed him to carry out independent research and where he made his major contributions in <a href="/facts/Acoustics/2GpQUymy">acoustics</a> and <a href="/facts/Optics/p0vq4S1T">optics</a>.
In 1917, he was appointed the first <a href="/facts/Palit_Professor_of_Physics/dlKgUsJt">Palit Professor of Physics</a> by <a href="/facts/Ashutosh_Mukherjee/DKYX3g6f">Ashutosh Mukherjee</a> at the <a href="/facts/Rajabazar_Science_College/o9rVFGV2">Rajabazar Science College</a> under the <a href="/facts/University_of_Calcutta/CjjFrJnT">University of Calcutta</a>. On his first trip to Europe, seeing the <a href="/facts/Mediterranean_Sea/Vr2pzVbM">Mediterranean Sea</a> motivated him to identify the prevailing explanation for the <a href="/facts/Color_of_water/1njWvgQT">blue colour of the sea</a> at the time, namely the reflected <a href="/facts/Rayleigh_scattering/o0MQtPMM">Rayleigh-scattered light</a> from the sky, as being incorrect. He founded the <a href="/facts/Indian_Journal_of_Physics/HkWE62rW">Indian Journal of Physics</a> in 1926. He moved to <a href="/facts/Bangalore/LoufLHv4">Bangalore</a> in 1933 to become the first Indian director of the <a href="/facts/Indian_Institute_of_Science/GNxvFXWn">Indian Institute of Science</a>. He founded the <a href="/facts/Indian_Academy_of_Sciences/aapAn8n9">Indian Academy of Sciences</a> the same year. He established the <a href="/facts/Raman_Research_Institute/I3BJ0Aue">Raman Research Institute</a> in 1948 where he worked to his last days.
The <a href="/facts/Raman_effect/obhSpgrR">Raman effect</a> was discovered on 28 February 1928. The day is celebrated annually by the <a href="/facts/Government_of_India/BIpETqjv">Government of India</a> as the <a href="/facts/National_Science_Day/bvaa8uYG">National Science Day</a>.

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C. V. Raman