The National Science Day is celebrated on 28 February each year in India to spread the message about the importance of science in the daily life of the people.
Context
The National Science Day is celebrated on 28 February each year in India to spread the message about the importance of science in the daily life of the people.
- The day also commemorates the discovery of the Raman effect.
Theme
- The National Science Day theme for 2022: ‘Integrated Approach in S&T for Sustainable Future’.
- The National Science Day theme for 2021: ‘Future of STI (Science, Technology and Innovations): Impacts on Education, Skills, and Work’.
History
- In 1986, the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) had asked the Government of India to announce February 28 as the National Science Day in India.
- The Government of India declared the day as National Science Day.
- The country celebrated the first National Science Day on February 28, 1987.
What is the Raman Effect?
- Professor CV Raman created interest in this phenomenon on his trip to Europe where he got curious to know the reason behind the blue colour of the Mediterranean Sea.
- This curiosity further led him to conduct various experiments with ice blocks, transparent surfaces, and light.
- Raman further observed a change in the wavelength after light passed through the ice cubes.
- With the use of a spectrograph that was developed by him, CV Raman discovered that when light traverses a transparent material, the deflection changes its wavelength and frequency.
- This phenomenon which they called 'modified scattering' was later termed the 'Raman Effect' or Raman Scattering.
Significance
- National Science Day is celebrated to raise awareness on the importance of science.
- Educational institutions celebrate National Science Day by organising public speeches, radio, TV, science movies, science exhibitions on themes and concepts, debates, quiz competitions, lectures and science model exhibitions.
About Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman
- CV Raman, a gifted child, was born in 1888 in Thiruvanaikaval, Tiruchi.
- He completed his schooling in Visakhapatnam before enrolling in The Presidency College, which was part of the University of Madras, for a B.A. programme in 1903 when he was just 14 years old.
- While working in the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Kolkata, physicist CV Raman discovered the Raman Effect.
- On February 28, 1928, Indian Scientist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman announced the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect.’
- o CV Raman was an expert in the field of light scattering and was always engaged in research.
- CV Raman received the coveted Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery.
- To honour the renowned scientist, India has commemorated this day as National Science Day since 1987.
- In 1954, CV Raman was awarded the Bharat Ratna, which is the highest civilian honour in India.
- Professor Raman was a top student for most of his academic career, and he went on to make significant contributions to the fields of acoustics and optics.
- CV Raman was also a remarkable teacher, and in 1917 he was named the first Palit Professor of Physics at the Rajabazar Science College.
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