National Science Day 2020: Life and contributions of Indian Physicist C.V. Raman

Every year,
February 28 is celebrated as National Science Day in India. The day marks the
important advancements in the field of science, where academicians and
scientists celebrate technology and science and various contributions.

This day is
celebrated in honour of India’s famous physicist C.V Raman who also became the
first Asian to win a Noble Award. However, it is not his birth or death
anniversary! Then why February 28?

National
Science Day is celebrated to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect by Indian
physicist Sir C.V. Raman on February 28, 1928. The revolutionary discrovery has
since then been used endlessly to channel growth and scientific advancement.
The main motive to celebrate National Science Day is to make people aware of
the importance of science used in our daily lives. Everyone including students,
teachers, schools celebrate this day with science exhibitions, research
demonstrations, speeches, quiz competitions and much more.

Chandrasekhara
Venkata Raman or CV Raman was born on November 7, 1888, in Madras. He was an
Indian physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in the year 1930
for his groundbreaking work in the field of light scattering. He was the first
person in the Asia continent to receive the Nobel Prize in the field of
science.

Raman
effect, also known as Raman scattering was the discovery done by C.V Raman. He
found that when the light travels through any transparent material, the
deflected part of light changes its wavelength and amplitude. This phenomenon
was called Raman scattering which was the consequence of the Raman Effect.

In honour of
this discovery and to pay tribute to the physicist, National Science Day is
celebrated across the country. The Indian government has also later honoured
him with India’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna in the year 1954.