C. V. Raman Death Anniversary: Interesting facts about the first Asian and non-white person who won Nobel Prize

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, also known as C.V. Raman, was an Indian physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for his contributions to physics.

He was born on November 7, 1888, in Trichinopoly, India. His father, Chandrasekhara Ramanathan Iyer was a teacher and his mother's name was Parvathi Ammal.

Raman earned his Master's degree in physics from Presidency College, University of Madras, in 1907. He started working as an accountant in the finance department of the Indian government. Later, he became professor of physics at the University of Calcutta in 1917.

In 1928, he discovered a factor about 'a transparent material when it is irradiated by a beam of light of one frequency: some of the lights that emerges at right angles to the original direction is of a different frequency than the incident light,' which is known as the 'Raman Effect,' which led to his winning the Nobel Prize.

He died at the age of 82 on November 21, 1970, in Bengaluru.

Facts about C. V. Raman:

• Sir C. V. Raman began attending his B.A. course at Presidency College when he was just 14 years old.

• He is the first Asian and the first non-White person to receive a Nobel Prize in science.

• Even today, when examining the molecular structure of chemical compounds, the 'Raman Effect' is thought to be of utmost importance.

• It is quite astonishing that Raman made this discovery with tools that cost just 200 INR. The Raman Effect is currently being researched using apparatus that costs close to millions of rupees.

• He was chosen as the country's first national professor following India's independence.

Published on: Sunday, November 20, 2022, 06:12 PM IST