C. V. Raman: Essay on C. V.
Raman (760 Words)
The Great Indian physicist Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman, popularly known as C.V Raman, was born on
7th November, 1888 at Trichirapalli in Tamil Nadu. His father was a physics teacher and so it was natural
that Raman developed love for this subject. He was a brilliant student from the very beginning. As a
brilliant and promising lad, he passed his matriculation examination at the young age of 11 from st.
Aloysius’ Anglo-Indian High school.
His parents wanted to sent him England for higher studies but his poor health did not allow it. He studied
at Hindu College, Visakhapatnam and Presidency College, Madras. He obtained his post-graduation
degree in physics in 1907 with the top position. During his student period he conducted many researches
and published his papers in many reputed magazines.
In the same year, that is, 1907, Raman got the first position in the Financial Service Examination and was
appointed as the Assistant Accountant General in Calcutta. There he came in contact with an eminent
scientist named Dr. Amritlal Sarkar who was Secretary of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of
Science. This contact with Dr. Sarkar proved a turning point in the life of this young scientist.
His interest in physics was deep and lasting and so he continued his research work in his spare time in the
laboratory of the Association. He published his research results in the leading journals of Calcutta, now
Kolkata which were in regard to the subject of propagation of light. These original research papers were
of great scientific significance.
When these came to the notice of the then Vice -Challenger of Calcutta University, Sir Ashutosh
Mukharjee, he appointed him Professor of physics in the University. During his stay at the University he
continued his research with much more devotion and won immense honour and recognition as a physicist.
He was elected the Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1924. He discovered the “Raman Effect” in
1928. For it he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930. He became the first Indian to win this
prestigious honour. With this award, his reputation increased by leaps and bounds and many Universities
and institutions of repute honoured him with Ph D and D.Sc. degrees.
In December, 1927 he was busy in laboratory when the news came that the well-known physicist A.M.
Compton was awarded the Nobel Prize for demonstrating that the nature of X-rays undergoes a change
when passed through a matter.
This effect came to be known as the “Compton Effect.” Encouraged by this discovery, Raman continued
his experiments and ultimately proved that light rays can also be scattered. His discovery enabled for the
first time, the mapping of possible levels of energy gains of molecules and atoms of a substance and thus
discovered their molecules and atomic structure. This discovery of the scattering of light led to the
development of a simple alternative to infra-red spectroscopy, namely, Raman Spectroscopy.
Raman Effect happens when molecules of a medium scatter light energy particles known as photons. The
spectrum varies with the nature of the transparent medium used to scatter the light. Raman Effect has
proved to be of great scientific value and with its help the structure of more than 200 compounds has
been known. He also gave us the scientific explanation for the blue colour of the sky and the ocean.
He explained that the blue color of the ocean was as a result of the scattering of sunlight by the molecules
of the water. He travelled widely abroad delivering lectures about his discoveries and researches. In 1933
he became the Director of the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore. In 1943 he founded the Raman
Research Institute at Bangalore. He was knighted in 1927. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954 and
the International Lenin Prize in 1957.
Raman was a born genius and a self-made man and scientist with deep religious convictions. His interests
were wide and deep and so were his contributions to the human knowledge and development. Besides
optics, he was deeply interested in acoustics—the science and study of sound.
His contributions to the mechanical theory of bowed, stringed and other musical instruments like violin,
sitar, cello, piano, veena, Tanpura and mridangam have been very significant. He explained in detail how
these musical instruments produce harmonious tones and notes. He died on November 21, 1970 at the
ripe age of 82 at Bangalore and his mortal remains were consigned to flames in the campus of the Raman
Research Institute.
