Dr Ashaq Hussain

The essence of Science is independent thinking, hard work, and not equipment: CV Raman

There are in fact two things, Science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance. Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination and so is science a way of thinking much more than the body of knowledge. Thus Science is a systematic way of studying the world around us, using skills such as observation, inference among others. Anything that can be created and that has a utilitarian purpose is an example of science and technology. A list of science wonders in today’s technologically dependent society would be almost endless. Medicines and drugs, computers and calculators, audio and video electronic devices including radios, televisions, and cell-phones, nuclear reactors, and nuclear weapons, communications satellites, spaceships, plastics and synthetic materials, automobiles, airplanes, and other means of transportation, pulp and paper products etc. are the ones which can never be ignored.
Today, we live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology. What life can be without science today is beyond imagination. By drastically changing our means of communication, the way we work, our housing, clothes, and food, our methods of transportation, and, indeed, even the length and quality of life itself, science has generated changes in the moral values and basic philosophies of mankind. In this sense, the popularization of science thus plays an important role, since in an accessible form it presents to a wide audience both the knowledge and the most advanced discoveries, inventions, achievements, and even controversial issues of science. Thus, the popularization of science contributes both to the preservation of the traditional and the development of the innovative component of the culture of society, the balance of which is important for the innovative development of the nation.

Today is National Science Day

After four decades of independence, a new beginning took place in our country and for the first time on February 28, 1987, National Science Day was celebrated throughout the country. In fact, the purpose of celebrating National Science Day is to promote scientific communication in public life and development of scientific approach among common people, to discuss new technologies, to provide opportunities for scientific minded students for research, to enrich human life with scientific inventions, to make science popular, to popularize science and technology among people, to connect science with humanity, to create scientific trends and to conduct scientific research for the welfare of human beings etc. The question arises why the date of February 28 was chosen for this?
In 1982, the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) was established under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The main objective of this council was to promote scientific communication activities. After the establishment of the Council, people interested in science wrote letters to the Council wherein an opinion or say a demand was raised to celebrate National Scientists Day like National Teachers Day. The Council held two sessions on November 4 and 21, 1986, seriously considering this letter. In this meeting, it was suggested that Science Day should be celebrated instead of Scientists’ Day. The second suggestion was that November 7 is the birthday of Indian scientist CV Raman, which should be celebrated as Science Day. In this context, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi believed that November was already the birthday of many scientists and is thus associated with celebrations and festivals of many the historical events of science. Thus it was suggested that since the Raman Effect research was announced on February 28, thus, February 28 will be a perfect day to celebrate National Science Day. After the agreement in the meeting, a decision was taken to celebrate National Science Day on February 28 in the entire country from 1987 and the Science and Technology Department of the Government of India designated February 28 as National Science Day. Another reason for choosing this day was to inspire new researchers to make their careers by taking inspiration from the research work of our scientist CV Raman.
The famous Indian physicist Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman announced the “Raman effect” on February 28, 1928 at the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Calcutta. The Raman Effect is basically the process of scattering of light particles by molecules of a medium. The scattering occurs due to a change in the wavelength of light as it enters the medium. In 1921, C.V. Raman was on a trip to Europe when he noticed the striking blue colour of some icebergs and the Mediterranean Sea. He was inspired to want to understand the reason behind the phenomenon. He conducted experiments with transparent blocks of ice and light from a mercury arc lamp. He recorded the spectra from shining the light through ice and detected what would come to be known as the Raman Lines, caused by the Raman Effect. The blueness of the sky and water bodies was accurately explained on the basis of the Raman Effect. Two years after the announcement of the Raman Effect, i.e. in 1930, CV Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. He was the first Indian scientist to win the country the world’s most important and prestigious Nobel Prize in the field of science. This award was not for an Indian scientist alone but for the whole of India. He played a key role in the promotion of science and especially Physics in India.
In the world of science, CV Raman is recognized as an exemplary person. CV Raman has made special contributions to science research and popularization of science. About ten thousand research papers have been published on Raman Effect. The occasion of National Science Day thus reminds us all that we must explore the world of science to enlighten ourselves with new knowledge. Let us celebrate the occasion of National Science Day in schools, colleges, universities and scientific institutes by promising that we will never get satisfied with what we know and we will keep exploring more and side by side bring awareness to people about the importance of science in our daily life and to encourage people by popularizing Science and Technology. The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it as the science of past is the technology of today and the technology of today is the sustenance of tomorrow. In short, science is a way of life and a perspective, a process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that’s precise, predictive, and reliable. It is thus a transformation, for those lucky enough who experience it. For those who love science, know that sky is the limit when it comes to learning new things in science. At last but not least, always keep in mind the famous quote of Raman about science, “Treat me right and you will see the light…Treat me wrong and you will be gone”. Wishing you all a very Happy National Science Day.
(The author is Associate Professor at Govt. Degree College Chatroo and can be reached at joinchemistry@gmail.com)

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