C V Raman Biography : Education | Career | Facts | Death

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 C V Raman Biography

Education | Career | Facts | Death

C V Raman , the Indian physicist who made his motherland proud by becoming the first Indian to win the Nobel Prize for Physics, was a scientist par excellence. Dr. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman displayed a brilliant mind even as a child and passed his matriculation examination at a much younger age as compared to other students. As the son of a lecturer in mathematics and physics, the young Raman was exposed to an academic environment from the very beginning. A topper throughout his academic days,  C V Raman was deeply interested in research, in fact he began his research work on optics and acoustics even while he was a student. Even though he started his career as a Deputy Accountant General, still he could not keep away from research, often staying up whole nights to discover new things in the field of physics.

 C V Raman
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C V Raman was intrigued by the blue colour of glaciers and the Mediterranean sea and wanted to unravel the mystery that why water, a colorless liquid, appeared blue to the eyes. Thus began a series of experiments on the scattering of light which ultimately led to what came to be known as the ‘Raman Effect’ for which he won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

About C. V. Raman

Dr. Chandra Sekhar Venkata Raman, betetr known as C V Raman, is one of the most distinguished Indian scientists of the 20th century. C. V. Raman was born on 7 November 1888 in a South Indian Brahmin family in the town of Tiruchirappalli in Tamil nadu. C V Raman’s father was a school teacher. C. V. Raman was a scholar of physics and mathematics. He also loved arts and greatly appreciated good music.

 C V Raman’s childhood and education

C V Raman childhood was given an environment of music, traditional Sanskrit literature and modern science. C. V. Raman was genius right from his childhood and always came first in every class he attended. He was a child prodigy. C. V. Raman completed his matriculation at the age of 11. He then took admission into Presidency College , Chennai for a B.A degree course. C. V. Raman completed it in 1905. He not only stood first in the class but also won a gold medal. C. V. Raman then joined the same college to pursue Master’s degree in Physics. During his B.A and M.A, Raman had displayed exemplary brilliance in scientific investigations.

 C V Raman’s career

At the insistance of his father, C. V. Raman took the Financial Civil Service (FCS) examination and stood first in that. He then proceeded to Calcutta  to join the Indian Finance Department as Deputy Accountant General.

Calcutta was the political capital of India at that time and the cultural capital as well. It was the main centre where scientific action was taking place in India.This took place because of The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science which was founded by Dr. Mahendra Lal Sircar and the University College of Science which was founded by Mr. Asutosh Mukherjee.

C. V. Raman, as he was employed, used to do his research before and after his work hours. After ten years of Government services, Raman resigned his post of Deputy Accountant General and joined Calcutta Uniersity as a Palit professor of Physics.

His duties there were to devote himself to path-breaking research in his subject; to support research by students and to supervise the laboratory. He took ‘Electricity and Magnetism’ and ‘Physical optics’ classes. His style of teaching was involvment of the whole class which would increase the subject grasping ability of the students. The students used to feel thrilled in his classes as if they were actually making the discoveries. They used to get the excitement in his classes where the theories were livened by practical examples.

C V Raman published about 21 studies in the domestic journals while he had 146 publications in the foreign journals. He published work on acoustics and musical instruments, and that of a theory on bowed strings.

 C V Raman’s conflicts

C V Raman was elected the Honorary Secretary of the Indian association for the Cultivation of science after the death of Lal Sircar in 1919. C. V. Raman held the post till 1933.

C V Raman had some conflict with the administrators of the Association and eventually he left not only the institute but also Calcutta. He made Banaglore his home in 1933. C V Raman took up the directorship of the Indian Institute of Science. He remained Director for four years. Later, he had to face some conflict.

C V Raman made several changes at the IISc. The existing staff found him so intervening and two of them resigned their jobs. There was a growing resentment in the campus. Raman was accused of favouring the physics department at the cost of other departments.

A committee was apponited in 1935 to review the institute’s affairs. The committee confirmed that the charges and accusations made against him were correct. C. V. Raman was also accused of not only administrative irregularities but also financial misconduct. C V Raman was asked to leave the Directorship of the institute but remained professor of Physics and continued till 1947.

In 1934,  C V Raman founded the Indian Academy of Sciences. He invested his personal property to build this. C. V. Raman  also has given his Nobel prize money and the Lenin Peace Prize moneyfor its development. A museum was built to house Raman’s collection of crystals, gems, minerals, rock specimens and shells.

Later in 1943, he set up the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore. There he served as its director and remained active until his death in 1970.

 C V Raman always took pride in being an Indian and stressed and endeavoured to have world class institutions and research in India.

Research years

 C V Raman
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From 1907 to 1917,  C. V. Raman did his research at the Indian Association for Cultivation of Science. As he was employed, C. V. Raman did the research work in the mornings and the evenings.

After ten year of government services, C. V. Raman resigned from his post to work as a professor of physics at the Calcutta University. He worked there for 15 years.

C V Raman joined IISc and continued his reasearch there. He founded the Indian Academy of Science in 1934. He also set upthe Raman Research Institute in 1943. He continued scientific research from theses institutes until his death which was caused by a strong heart attack on 21 November 1970.

C. V. Raman‘s advice

 C. V. Raman firmly believed that India should be self-sufficient in science. His sincere advice to aspring scientists was “scientifc research needed independent thinking and hard work, not equipment.”

Books By C. V. Raman

 C V Raman
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There are some Books which are written by C V Raman.  Here is Follows –

Vol. 1 – Scattering of Light (Ed. S Ramaseshan)

Vol. 2 – Acoustic

Vol. 3 – Optica

Vol. 4 – Optics of Minerals and Diamond

Vol. 5 – Physics of Crystals

Vol. 6 – Floral Colours and Visual Perception

Awards & Honors

  •  C. V. Raman was awarded the degree of ‘Doctor of Science’ in 1921 by the Calcutta University.
  • In year 1924, C. V. Raman was elected to the fellowship of the Royal Society of London.
  • In year 1929, the British Government in India conferred on him the knighthood title of ‘Sir’.
  • C. V. Raman received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for his ‘Raman Effect’.
  • The Government of India honoured him with the highest civilian honour of the country ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1954.
  • C V Raman was also awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in 1958.

Interesting Facts About C V Raman

  •  C. V. Raman was just 14 years old when he started attending his B.A Class at Presidency College.
  • C V Raman was the first Asian and first non-White to receive any Nobel Prize in the sciences.
  • In year 1932, C. V. Raman and Suri Bhagavantam discovered the quantum photon spin. This discovery further proved the quantum nature of light.
  • After the independence of India,  C V Raman was selected as the first national professor of India.

Inspirational Quotes By C V Raman

There are various inspirational quotes by the eminent scientist  C V Raman himself. Here is Follows –

” I am the master of my failure… If I never fail how will I ever learn. “

C V Raman
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” Ask the right questions, and nature will open the doors to her secrets.”

C V Raman
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“Treat me right and you will see the light…Treat me wrong and you will be gone!”

C V Raman
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” Success can come to you by courageous Devotion to the task lying in front of you.”

C V Raman
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” If someone judges you,they are wasting space in their mind…Best part, it’s their problem.”

C V Raman
Image Source : Google

 C V Raman’s Death Info

 C V Raman
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  C V Raman died on 21-11-1970 at age of 82 in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. C. V. Raman died from natural causes after some days of his birthday. C. V. Raman fell down in his laboratory and was taken to the hospital. Doctors declared that he had only 4 days to live. C. V. Raman wanted to die in the gardens by his flowers of his Institute.

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