National Science Day 2023: 10 Interesting Facts About Sir CV Raman

National Science Day 2023: Indian scientist Sir CV Raman won the Nobel Prize in 1928 for his groundbreaking discovery of the Raman Effect. Raman’s findings revolutionized the field of science forever. In his honour, the country celebrates National Science Day on the day he made the discovery. It serves as a platform to encourage and inspire youth to develop interest in science and its various aspects. The goal is to promote greater scientific literacy among the wider population.

Interesting facts about the life of Sir CV Raman

1. CV Raman’s father was a lecturer in Mathematics and Physics. This background ensured that he was immersed in an academic environment from an early age.
2. In his Nobel-winning experiment, Raman collaborated with colleague KS Krishnan. Due to some professional differences with Raman, Krishnan did not share the Nobel Prize. Despite this, in his Nobel acceptance speech, the scientist emphasized Krishnan’s contribution.
3. With his win, CV Raman became the first Asian and non-Caucasian person to win the Nobel Prize in Science.
4. Raman was once asked about the inspiration for his revolutionary optical theory. He replied that when he was visiting Europe in 1921 he noticed “the wonderful blue opalescence of the Mediterranean Sea”, which inspired him.
5. In addition to his expertise in lighting, CV Raman delved into acoustics, becoming the first to explore the harmonic properties of Indian drums such as the tabla and mridangam.
6. Dr. Ernest Rutherford, the discoverer of the atomic nucleus and the proton, praised Raman’s spectroscopy in his 1929 presidential address to the Royal Society, which later awarded Raman a knighthood for his contributions.
7. In 1933, CV Raman created history as the first Indian director of the Indian Institute of Science (IIS), a remarkable achievement during the colonial era when all IIS directors were British.
8. Lokasundari Ammal, CV Raman’s wife, suggested naming their house Panchavati after the ashram where Rama and Sita had stayed during their exile.
9. The Nobel laureate was distrustful of government involvement and had a strong opposition to the Project Report, which required him to submit regular updates on the institute’s activities. He firmly believed in “no-strings-attached” science and refused government funding to preserve the independence of the institute.
10. Raman is believed to have once joked with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. They used UV light rays to trick the PM into believing that the copper was gold.

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