National Science Day

 

National Science Day is celebrated in India on 28 February each year to mark the discovery of the Raman effect by Indian physicist Sir C. V. Raman on 28 February 1928.

Sir Chandrashekhar Venkata Raman, popularly known as CV Raman. He was born to a Tamil family on November 7, 1888, in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu.

Raman's forefathers were agriculturists who settled in the Tanjore district near Porasakudi Village and Mangudi. Chandrasekhara Iyer, His father was a lecturer in mathematics and physics so that from the first he was immersed in an academic atmosphere. He entered Presidency College, Madras, in 1902, and in 1904 passed his B.A. examination, winning the first place and the gold medal in physics; in 1907 he gained his M.A. degree, obtaining the highest distinctions and continued his scientific work in his spare time.

In November 1906, aged 18, Raman had his first academic paper published. Over the next decade, he published some 30 papers in Nature, Philosophical Magazine and Physical Review—which helped to make his name familiar outside of India. In 1917, he was offered a physics appointment at Calcutta University. This marked the beginning of a very productive time in Raman’s life, which he termed his “golden era.” It extended from 1917 until 1933 and included multidisciplinary research in optics, acoustics and other branches of physics.

In 1918, Raman published the first in a series of experiments on the molecular diffraction of light, which led to his 1928 discovery of the Raman Effect.

 Raman Effect is a phenomenon in spectroscopy discovered by the eminent physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman in 1928.  After two years in 1930, he got Nobel Prize for this remarkable discovery and this was the first Nobel Prize for India in the field of Science. While working in the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata.

Raman Effect is a change in the wavelength of light that occurs when a light beam is deflected by molecules. When a beam of light traverses a dust-free, transparent sample of a chemical compound, a small fraction of the light emerges in directions other than that of the incident (incoming) beam. Most of this scattered light is of unchanged wavelength. A small part, however, has wavelengths different from that of the incident light; its presence is a result of the Raman Effect.

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman died, aged 82, of heart disease on November 21, 1970 in Bangalore, India.

In 1986, the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) asked the Government of India to designate February 28 as National Science Day. The event is now celebrated all over India in schools, colleges, universities and other academic, scientific, technical, medical and research institutions. On the occasion of the first NSD (National Science Day)(26 February 2020 ) NCSTC announced the institution of the National Science Popularization awards for recognizing outstanding efforts in the area of science and communication.

Themes of National Science Day

The theme of the year 1999 was “Our Changing Earth”.

The theme of the year 2000 was “Recreating Interest in Basic Science”.

The theme of the year 2001 was “Information Technology for Science Education”.

The theme of the year 2002 was “Wealth From Waste”.

The theme of the year 2003 was “50 years of DNA & 25 years of IVF – The Blue print of Life”.

The theme of the year 2004 was “Encouraging Scientific Awareness in Community”.

The theme of the year 2005 was “Celebrating Physics”.

The theme of the year 2006 was “Nurture Nature for our future”.

The theme of the year 2007 was “More Crop Per Drop”.

The theme of the year 2008 was “Understanding the Planet Earth”.

The theme of the year 2009 was “Expanding Horizons of Science”.

The theme of the year 2010 was “Gender Equity, Science & Technology for Sustainable Development”.

The theme of the year 2011 was “Chemistry in Daily Life”.

The theme of the year 2012 was “Clean Energy Options and Nuclear Safety”.

The theme of the year 2013 was “Genetically Modified Crops and Food Security”.

The theme of the year 2014 was “Fostering Scientific Temper”.

The theme of the year 2015 was “Science for Nation Building”.

The theme of the year 2016 was on "Scientific Issues for Development of the Nation".

The theme of the year 2017 was "Science and Technology for Specially Abled Persons"

The theme of the year 2018 was "Science and Technology for a sustainable future."

The theme of the year 2019 was "Science for the People, and the People for Science"

The theme of the year 2020 was "Women in Science."

The theme of the year 2021 was 'Future of STI: Impact on Education Skills and Work'.

The theme for NSD of the year 2022 is 'Integrated Approach in S&T for Sustainable Future'