Scientists, Famous Scientists, Great Scientists Information, Biography, Photo, Name, History.

Dr. Jayant Narlikar

2011-06-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

The great Indian astrophysicist, Dr Jayant Narlikar was born on July 19, 1938, in a highly educated and cultured family in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra. His father Prof. Vishnu Vasudev Narlikar was the Head of the Department of Mathematics at Benaras Hindu University. Thereafter he was Chairman of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission. Jayant Narlikar had his education in Varanasi. His mother was a graduate in Sanskrit from Mumbai (Bombay) University. Besides, she loved English literature. She was graceful, cultured and educated lady.

Young Narlikar was exceptionally talented and always topped at school and college examinations. Mathematics was his favourite subject. Besides, he enjoyed reading. In 1959, he cleared BSc Honours from Benaras Hindu University. He stood first in the University. His subjects were mathematics and astrophysics. For further studies his father wanted to send him abroad. Before leaving India, he was informed by those who had already been to England, not to be complacent. Life would be tough but having worked hard, he came out with flying colours. The advice he received from his father and particularly, his maternal uncle Dr. Vasantrao Hujurbazar really stood him in good stead.

Besides his parents, Fred Hoyle, his teacher and mentor had a great influence on him. Besides, his extraordinary result at the graduate level also fetched him a scholarship. He was sent to England, where he joined Cambridge University. Here he obtained MSc degree in just two years. Incidentally at that time a world famous teacher of astrophysics was in Cambridge. He was, Frederick Hoyle, better known as Fred Hoyle, Hoyle was professor at Kings College, Cambridge and conducting research on the speed and condition of celestial bodies. Narlikar registered for PhD under Hoyle and began research work. Hoyle accepted him wholeheartedly, In 1963, Jayant Narlikar was awarded PhD by Cambridge University. He stayed in Cambridge from 1957 to 1962.

During his 15 years stay abroad Dr. Narlikar made many important researches. At the age of 22 years he became member of the Royal Astronautical Society. He was also appointed Fellow at Kings College, Cambridge. His father too, was member of this institute. His PhD thesis included research on principles of gravitation, gravitational pull between different celestial bodies, formation of the universe and others. He had also presented another view to the popular Big Bang theory. According to his theory the universe is not expanding but static (still). He had described it as ‘steady state’. This theory shed new light on the subject. With Fred Hoyle, he presented the famous Conformal Theory of Gravity, which became well-known all over the world. Narlikar and Hoyle worked on cosmology, including the steady state theory, theory of gravitation, electrodynamics, etc. They propounded that the force of other powers in space and the universe has an effect on the mass of matter. Besides, it also affects the shape and size of matter. It is generally believed that the gravitational pull depends on the mass of the object. He suggested that the gravitational pull on celestial bodies depends on its density. As the internal density of the object is more, so is the gravitational pull on celestial bodies depends on its density. As the internal density of the object is more, so is the gravitational pull. This is the reason why such heavenly bodies try to devour other heavenly bodies. As the mass of these objects increases it becomes dense. Its density increase so much that such a pinch of mass is equivalent to several tons in weight. In the end it becomes a Black Hole. Such objects do not even allow light to escape from them.

His researches on gravitation of space objects are considered noteworthy. He received awards and medals from many institute in Europe. In 1969, the Union education Minstry invited Dr Narlikar and Hoyle to visit India and deliver lectures. In 1968, Cambridge University honoured him by presenting him the Adam Award. Earlier, three Indian scientists had received this prestigious award: in 1944, Dr. Homi Bhabha; in 1948, Dr S Chandrashekhar; and in 1961, Dr Hujurbazar, This award is given every two years in the memory of Dr J C Adams, astrophysics and natural science. Adams was an outstanding astronomer, who has predicted the existence of planet Neptune in 1846.

Narlikar married Mangala Sadashiv Rajwade in 1966. In 1969, when he returned to India, he was conferred the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Fundamental Research invited him to join as professor of astrophysics. Narlikar too had decided to offer his services to the country. In 1972, he joined TIFR as professor. Besides research and teaching, he guided doctoral students. Here he continued research on tachyons. Tachyons are particles that move faster than the speed of light. According to Dr Narlikar, Black Holes are bases of tachyons. They absorb light coming from outside and with tremendous pressure contracts the surface of the Black Hole. After coming here Narlikar developed one more activity. To popularize science and especially astronomy among the people he wrote book Akashashi Jadle Nate (Related to the Sky) in his mother tongue Marathi. Besides he also wrote science stories. His books have also been translated into Hindi and Gujarati. He is an accomplished science fiction writer.

In September 1988, the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi encouraged him to start astronomy and nuclear physics inter university centre. Through the university Grants Commission and central aid such a centre has been made possible. Narlikar was its first director and worked as Homi Bhabha professor. In 1988, he attended an international conference on astronomy at Baltimore in America. On January 10 1989, the National Science Academy honoured Narlikar with the Venu Bappu Memorial Award for 1988. This award includes Rs. 25000 in cash and a medal. In 1990 he was awarded the Indian Science Academy’s Indira Gandhi Award and in 1996, UNESCO’s ‘Kalinga Award’. Recently, on March 12, 2003, the Yashwantroa Chavan Rashtriya Puraskar – 2002’ was presented to Narlikar.

We pray to the almighty to grant good health and long life to this great Indian scientist, so that he may continue to serve the world of science and the country.

Dr. Jayant Narlikar Photo

Arthur Compton (1892 – 1962)

2011-05-27T00:10:00.001-07:00

Arthur Holly Compton was born on September 10, 1892, at Wooster, Ohio, USA. His father Elias Compton was professor of Philosophy at Wooster College, Oxford, in Ohio, and also served as priest in the church there. Arthur, the youngest of three brothers and a sister, was brought up in religious atmosphere at home. His sister Mary married a missionary. They worked and settled in Allahabad, India. Arthur’s eldest brother Karl Compton was a physicist, who had written many papers. Besides, he had done considerable research on photo electricity and the crystal structure. He was appointed president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Another brother, Wilson Compton, gained reputation as a good economist and able administrator.

Their mother, Otelia was a doting mother and had raised the children with utmost care and attention. She was their guide and toiled for her children. She was aware of her children’s activities and took care to ensure that they did no wrong. The children too reciprocated and were aware of her contribution in their progress. Probably this was the reason that in October 1932, Wooster College of Ohio honoured 74-year old Otelia Compton as the best mother. In presence of her three sons and husband, she was conferred the honorary degree ‘Doctor of Law’. She was proud of her three sons, who had made important contributions in their respective fields towards the progress of the country and the development of the world.

Compton was curious about science from an early age. Initially, he developed interest in aeronautics. He had studied deeply the theories and practical aspects of airplanes. He had even constructed and flown a glider. But later, he was attracted towards astronomy. He had another interest. He would attend any lecture by experts in the town and try to understand it. With his homebuilt telescope he would stargaze for nights together and note his observations. He would photograph the planets and then study them. Actually, he was following Karl’s footsteps. All three Compton brothers graduated with honours from Wooster College and earned their Ph Ds from Princeton University. They were all good athletes in college.

When Arthur was a college student, he had invented the gyroscopic technique to control an aircraft and got it patented. He wanted to study Mechanical engineering, but when he saw Karl opting for mathematics and physics, he discussed it with him and finally decided to follow him. He got his doctorate in 1916. He worked as instructor in physics at Minnesota University for a year. Then he joined Westinghouse Corporation at Pittsburgh as research engineer. During his two-year service, he worked on development of aviation equipment for American Signal Corps. At the end of World War I, he decided to return to academic field. He accepted a research scholarship at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University and worked with great scientists like J J Thomson and Ernest Rutherford. He got trained under such greats during this period.

Compton returned to America in 1920 and joined the University Washington at St. Louis as professor and head of physics department. Soon, he was invited at Chicago University. He worked under the chairmanship of Professor Michelson, as head of the physics department. He stayed there for 22 years. He was successful in roping Robert Millikan as the chairman of the physics department. He was attracted towards the important scientific researches of this great scientist and got interested in the basic research. He also got involved in the in-depth research in nuclear physics. He observed and explained the change in the wavelength of X-rays when they are deflected by electrons. Known as the Compton effect, it is caused by the transfer of energy from the photon to the electron. Its discovery in 1922 confirmed the dual nature of electromagnetic radiation as both a wave and a particle. It also went on to prove that the wavelength of X-rays could be increased. Scientists readily accepted this important discovery. In 1927, Compton was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on scattering (deflection) of X-rays by electrons. He shared the prize equally with CTR Wilson who was awarded the prize for his discovery of the cloud chamber.

Now his attention was drawn to the cosmic rays. He had in 1913 tried to learn about the nature of cosmic rays and conducted research to understand them. He formed a group of scientists to unravel the mysteries of cosmic rays. Such eight groups worked all over the world, to gather information about cosmic rays. They worked in different regions like Arctic, Equatorial, Asia, Europe and South American Regions. For Compiling and assessing the results, Compton traveled nearly 50,000 miles or about 80,000 kilometers.

Till 1939, Compton was not much interested in uranium or nuclear fission. But with the discovery of cyclotron by Lawrence and its subsequent scientific and medical application, Compton directed his interest towards it. On the other hand, America had launched the atomic project sensing the World War II situation. Need arose for great scientists and good administrators. Compton was an obvious choice. This project was sanctioned in 1941 by the then president of America, Franklin Roosevelt on recommendation of foremost scientists of the time, Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilar. A core group of scientists was constituted and sufficient funds were allocated. Later on, some defense officers were also included in the team. The project was named Manhattan Project. On the assurance of Enrico Fermi, Compton took this responsibility. It was difficult to build a nuclear reactor. Finally, it was erected in the Chicago Football Stadium. From 1942 to 1945 he was director of the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago, which developed the first self-sustaining atomic chain reaction that paved the way for controlled release of nuclear energy. Things worked as per the schedule and the atom bomb was tested successfully. Compton realized that this project could cause huge loss of human life and untold devastation. But he also saw it as a means to stop the on-going war. Ultimately, what followed came to be known all over the world. May be, personally speaking, Compton and other senior scientists may not have felt morally justified in conducting such a research.

After World War II, Einstein, Fermi and Compton along with other scientists advocated use of atomic energy only for the benefit of the society. Compton returned to academics and established three important research centres:
(1) Institute of Nuclear Studies
(2) Metallurgy Institute and
(3) Institute of Radiology.

Thereafter, in 1945, Compton became Chancellor of the University of Washington and then professor of natural history there from 1953 to 1961. During the war, Compton was at the forefront of decision making process on several important science related issues. Many held him as one of those responsible for the atomic massacre in Japan. He believed that the radiation emitted at the time of nuclear fission is a natural process. The use of science for the benefit of humankind is indeed of the hour. He died at the age of 70 on Match 15, 1962, in Berkeley, California, USA.

Scientist Niels Bohr (1885 – 1962)

2011-03-25T00:28:00.000-07:00

The man to present the first ever model of an atom, the fount of knowledge, Niels Henrik David Bohr was born on October 7, 1885 in Copenhagen, Denmark. His father Christian Bohr was a professor of physiology at Copenhagen University. His mother Ellen Adler Bohr came from a wealthy Jewish family prominent in Danish banking and parliamentary circles. Niels was born in his maternal family home in ‘King Georg’s Palace’, considered to be one of the prominent and majestic private homes of Copenhagen.

Niels Bohr had primary, secondary and university education in Copenhagen. He was a brilliant and industrious student. He and his younger brother Harold were good football players. They were proud members of the Danish football team. In the Scandinavian state too, they were considered as leading players. It is said that if you ask a Danish citizen about his pride in the four best things of Denmark, he would say: its prosperous shipbuilding industry, her prosperous dairy and cheese industry and her two prodigious sons – the famed artist Hans Christian Andersen and country’s greatest scientist Niels Bohr. The Danish Science Society had awarded a gold medal to Bohr for ingenious study of surface tension. His brother Harold became a great mathematician later.

In 1911, Bohr completed his doctorate in physics. Then he went to London and under the able guidance of Sir J J Thomson, the ‘Father of Electron’, he started research at the Cavendish Laboratory. He then worked with Ernest Rutherford at Manchester for about four years. They remained good friends throughout their lives. Bohr even named his son Ernest after his dear friend. In 1913, Bohr presented his basic theory of the internal structure of an atom. Later, it underwent lot of changes and transformations over a period known as Bohr’s atomic model or Bohr’s theory of atom. This theory became very useful in the fields of chemistry and atomic science. Thanks to this theory that today so much development has taken place in the field of atomic energy.

An atom is the smallest particle of an element that exists freely and takes part in a chemical reaction. Atoms of same or different elements combine to form molecules. Molecules form a solid or liquid or gas depending upon the intermolecular strength or force and conditions like temperature and pressure. An atom is made of two parts. Its core is known as nucleus which contains all the positive charge in the atom and almost all the mass of the atom. The electrons move at high speed in circular orbits around the nucleus. This is known as Bohr model of the atom. It can be compared to the solar system. In the solar system, the sum is at the centre and the planets and asteroids revolve around the sun in the specific orbits. Atom is very small. The diameter of atom’s nucleus is supposed to be 100000th part of an atom’s diameter. Electrons revolve around it at high speed. Hydrogen is the lightest element among all the natural elements. Its nucleus contains only one proton. It carries positive charge. An electron is electrically equal – same as that of the proton, but negative in charge. A proton is 1836 times heavier than an electron. In the hydrogen atom there is only one proton with one electron. The next lightweight element is helium. Its nucleus has two protons and two neutrons. Two electrons move around the nucleus. Uranium is the heaviest of all natural elements. It has 92 electrons, which revolve in 7 different orbits around the nucleus. Thus, in each element the number of protons and neutrons differs.

Bohr, with the help of his atomic model and planck’s quantum theory, was able to explain the stability of the atom and the origin of atomic spectra. Normally, electrons revolve in their own assigned orbits in an atom. But when electricity or energy is passed trough an atom, the electrons quickly change their orbits and jump into a higher orbit. It returns to its original position in a short while. When electron moves to higher orbit it consumes energy and on its return, it releases energy. This release of energy is normally in the form of electromagnetic radiations. Bohr determined the atomic structure of matter by calculating the wavelength of the radiation produced during this process.

Bohr’s work provided a major breakthrough in atomic physics. It dawned a new era in science. Bohr received the Nobel Prize for physics nine years after his wonderful discovery, in 1922. At 37 years of age, he was the youngest physicist to receive this honour. Prior to this achievement, he was appointed chairman at the Copenhagen based Institute of Theoretical physics. In a small country like Denmark, scientist from all over the world would gather at Copenhagen due to Bohr. Einstein had spoken the truth when he asked as to what would have been the state of atomic knowledge, had Bohr not been there.

In 1939, a young Austrian Jew lady, Lise Meitner and her nephew Otto Robert Frisch came to Denmark from Nazi-infested Germany. They were appointed as researchers at Bohr’s institute to an article announcing that German scientists were working on their latest inventions and were planning to divide the nucleus of uranium into two equal parts. Bohr saw that if this was made possible, then immense energy could be produced during the process. It was also possible that Germans could use this technology to be powerful enough to destroy the world. Bohr rushed to America with this information. He discussed and deliberated on the issue with scientists Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi. Fermi was working on this subject at Columbia University. It did not take much time for these eminent scientists to realize how dangerous it would be for the future of the world. The picture was very clear in their minds. Thereafter, America produced atom bombs and dropped them on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to end the World War II.

Bohr immediately returned to Denmark after deliberations in America. In April 1940, Germany attacked and captured Denmark, sending the king behind bars and stripping the army off weapons. They had planned to kill 6000 Jews living in Denmark. But about 5000 of them safety sailed to Sweden, thus failing the German plan. Niels Bohr, the son of a Jewish mother and his wife Margrethe Norlund were rescued in the dead of night, by the Danish resistance movement in a fisherman’s boat to reach Sweden safely. Nazis raiden Bohr’s residence, but fortunately, they could not lay their hands on the gold medal awarded as the Nobel Prize. Later, Bohr reached America and joined his son Aage, then working as a research physicist at Los Alamos in a nuclear project.

Bohr returned to Copenhagen after the end of the World War II. He was deeply saddened by America’s attack on Japan. He advocated ban on nuclear explosion at international level. Bohr attended the peace conference at Geneva in 1955 as chairman of Denmarks Atomic Energy Commission. He was elected chairman of the conference. In October 1957, Bohr received the $ 75000 Atoms for peace Award from Ford. Bohr received the highest number of awards and medals in the world of science. Among his other researches, his work on the liquid drop model to explain nuclear properties and the principle of complementarity have played an important role in the development of modern physics.

In his last years Bohr tried to point out ways in which the idea of complementarities could throw light on many aspects of human life and thought. He had a major influence on several generations of physicists, deepening their approach to science and to their lives. Bohr himself was always ready to learn. He drew strength from his close personal ties with his co-workers, his sons, wife and brother. Profoundly Danish firmly rooted in his own culture. This was symbolized by his many public roles, particularly as president of the Royal Danish Academy from 1939 until the end of his life. He died in Copenhagen on November 19, 1962.

Sir James Chadwick (1891-1974)

2011-03-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

James Chadwick, the discoverer of neutron, a constituent of the nucleus of an atom, was born in Manchester, England on October 20, 1891. He was the eldest son of J J Chadwick. After completing his schooling from the local school he joined the famed Victoria University in Manchester. He acquired his post-graduate degree in 1911. He received a scholarship and went to Charlotenberg, Germany for further study in 1913. Chadwick studied under Hans Geiger at the Technische Hochschule, Berlin. When the World War I broke out in 1914, the Germans captured him and sent him to a labour camp. There was some solace when he met some scientists there and discussed problems in science with them. Thus, he continued his studies mentally on the subject of his interest. When the war ended, he returned home in 1919.

Around the time of his return to Manchester, Lord Rutherford had for the first time made it possible to separate hydrogen and oxygen through artificial transformation. He worked with Rutherford for a while and then got on with his research. But in 1921, when Rutherford succeeded sir J J Thomson as professor of physics at Cavendish Laboratory, he invited Chadwick to join him. Chadwick accepted it happily. First of all, he completed his thesis and submitted it to the University. In 1921, he received doctorate from Cambridge University. He took up lectureship at Cavendish Laboratory and also assisted Rutherford in his research. What happens if the nucleus of an atom of an element is bombarded with high energy alpha particles? Can some new element be found out by doing so? He got down to solving these mysteries. He also wanted to know the structure and size of the nucleus. In 1922, Rutherford and Chadwick discovered ‘proton’ when they bombarded alpha particles on nitrogen nucleus. In 1925, Chadwick married Eileen Stuart Brown of Liverpool. The same year he was appointed assistant director at the laboratory.

In 1920, Scientist Williams Hawkins had predicted the presence of a neutral particle in a nucleus. Many years later, Chadwick discovered this particle called the neutron. For this, Chadwick was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1935. During the same year, he resigned from Cambridge due to different of opinion with Rutherford on building a new device called cyclotron. He then joined Lavon Jones Institute in Liverpool University as Professor and built the first cyclotron in UK. In the wake of World War II in 1939, it was decided to bring both British Atomic Project and America’s Project at Manhattan together. In 1941, as part of the British Project, he joined the Tube Alloys Project. Two years later, he went to America, He became the scientific advisor to the American-British-Canadian Policy Committee at Oakridge. He was also associated with Robert Oppenheimer’s team working at Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA. This team was working to produce an atomic bomb to end the war.

July 16, 1945 was set for the test of the atomic bomb. The bomb was planet on a 32 ton 100 feet tower erected at Gyro Hill- Alamogordo air base in the desert 120 miles southeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico. At 5.30 in the morning, at a control room, 9 miles (14.5 kms) away from the site, in the presence of about 100 scientists a robot pressed the button. An immense fireball rose in the air. The blast was so loud that it was heard 450 miles away in Taxas. The smoke covered the area of 7 miles. The tower has melted with the heat energy produced. The test was declared successful and the scientist’s job was over. On August 6, 1945, the first atom bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. In a short while, around 6000 people were killed, 40000 were rendered blind and 20000 gradually became the victims. The entire city had turned into a big graveyard. The second atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Japan immediately surrendered and World War II came to and end.

Many atomic scientists believe that such use can only cause mass destruction and unhappiness. Scientists believe that this demon can be tamed and used constructively, to make life happy and prosperous in this world. By 1945, Chadwick was known all over the world as an extraordinary, cultured and self-possessed man. He was also known as a calm, composed and selfless scientist. The British government conferred knighthood on him and appointed him the National Science Advisor. He also served as the British representative to the American Atomic Energy Commission.

Besides his being awarded the Nobel Prize in 1935 for the discovery of the neutron, many international universities and scientific institution honoured him. In 1946, he received the Merit Medal of the USA. In 1950, the Royal Society of England conferred on him the Copley Medal. Franklin Institute, Philadelphia awarded him the Franklin Award. The American Physics Society and other reputed institutions offered him honorary membership. Since 1957 he was associated with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Institute as part-time member.

Many reputed science periodicals and journals published his articles and research papers. He also wrote on radiation in several magazines and reputed newspapers. These were very informative and useful for scientists, science teachers and the public, at large. In 1930, in collaboration with Lord Rutherford and Sir Charles Ellis he wrote a reference book titled ‘Rays Emanating from Radioactive Substances’. The revised edition was published in 1933. On July 24, 1974, at Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, this great scientist passed away at 84. May his invaluable contributions be used for constructive purposes in this world. It is only the future that can reveal whether this discovery of nuclear energy would be beneficial or detrimental to the world.

Scientist James Chadwick photo

Lord Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937)

2011-03-09T06:38:00.001-08:00

Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871 in the southern island of Nelson, in New Zealand. His parents belonged to the Scottish farming community of England and had migrated to New Zealand in 1842. They were cultured and well educated. In 1889, Ernest won a scholarship to Nelson College, a secondary school, where he was a popular boy. Another scholarship allowed him to enroll in Canterbury College, from where he graduated with a BA in 1892 and an MA in 1893 with first-class honours in mathematics and physics.

In 1895, Cambridge University announced scholarships for deserving students of British Commonwealth countries. This was a big break. Rutherford joined Cavendish Laboratory and started research. He was fortunate enough to get guidance from a genius like J J Thomson. It was the time when the sensational discovery of X-rays was just announced. This inspired Rutherford to work on it. Later on, he was attracted towards radioactivity. Thomson invited him to conduct research on the effects of X-rays on gases. Rutherford accepted the challenge happily and began the research. Thomson was already a world-renowned physicist and his assistant Rutherford was a brilliant researcher. Thomson considered Rutherford his best and most talented student. Rutherford concentrated on Becquerel’s discovery of some mysterious and unknown rays. He found out that just as X-rays ionize the gases, these unknown rays (radioactive rays) ionize the gases.

Meanwhile, a new post of professor of physics was created at McGill University at Montreal, in Canada. Thomson could not think of a better choice than Rutherford for the post. He inspired Rutherford to join the place. Rutherford was reluctant to leave a reputed place like Cavendish Laboratory, but to satisfy his guide’s desire he left for Canada in 1898. Here, he studied Becquerel rays under the effect of electric and magnetic fields. He made a wonderful discovery that these rays consisted of three types of rays, alpha, beta and gamma rays. He also succeeded in identifying two types: The radioactive rays that could be blocked by a thick paper were alpha rays (positively charged) and the ones that could be blocked by thin aluminium foil were beta rays. Beta rays were negatively charged electrons. Besides, he came to know that gamma rays were very powerful like X-rays. Here, he got an opportunity to work with the great English chemist Frederick Soddy (Nobel Prize winner for Chemistry in 1921). Rutherford and Soddy then investigated three groups of radioactive elements-radium, thorium and actinium. They concluded in 1902 that radioactivity was a process in which atoms of one element spontaneously disintegrated into atoms of an entirely different element, which also were radioactive. This interpretation was opposed by many chemists who held firmly to the concept of the indestructibility of matter; the suggestion that some atoms could tear themselves apart to form entirely different kinds of matter was to them a remnant of medieval alchemy.

In 1907, Rutherford got an opportunity to return to England. There was a vacancy worth his caliber at Manchester University. He joined here and continued research in radioactivity. In 1908, Rutherford was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his research on radioactivity and nucleus of the atom, though he was a well-known professor of physics. The British government knighted him and he became Lord Rutherford of Nelson. He was thus honoured for his outstanding contribution in scientific research.

Another favourite student of J J Thomson, C T R Wilson was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1927 for his invention of the cloud chamber named after him. Rutherford used this equipment to study alpha rays more closely. He carried out many experiments on scattering of alpha particles by this foils of metals. On the basis of his experimental results, he announced in 1911 that the nucleus of an atom contained all the positive charge, which caused the alpha particles to divert their path as they approached the nucleus. Rutherford was then hailed as the discoverer of proton, the positively charged particle in the atom. It was Rutherford who discovered that an atom had a dense and massive positively-charged nucleus with the light negatively-charged electrons revolving around it. The simplest and lightest atom was that of hydrogen, with only one electron. In 1919, Rutherford proposed that the positively charged particle in the nucleus of hydrogen atom is a proton. These particles are present in the nuclei of all elements. The mass of a proton is 1836 times more than that of an electron. Like an electron, proton is also an elementary particle. Though proton is quite heavy than electron the electrical charge on both is equal but of opposite types. The mass of a proton is 1.6726231 X 10 -27 kg and proton’s electrical charge is 1.602.X 10 -19 coulomb.

Rutherford’s celebrated students include Henri Moseley and Niels Bohr. It was thanks to the joint efforts of Rutherford and Bohr that the clear structure of the stom emerged. In 1919, Rutherford was appointed the director of Cambridge University and chairman of Cavendish Laboratory. This was a memorable day for Rutherford as he had succeeded his guide J J Thomson. Thomson’s another student James Chadwick discovered neutron in 1932, though Rutherford had predicted the existence of such a particle long before. The ‘Father of Proton’, researcher of radioactivity, Rutherford died in 1937. He published about 80 research papers, winning respect, honour and medals, aptly to be called Lord Ernest Rutherford of Nelson.

John Logie Baird

2011-03-02T22:59:00.000-08:00

The inventor of the television, John Logie Baird was born on August 13, 1888, at a hamlet Helensburgh, Dunbarton, near Glasgow, Scotland. Son of a Scottish engineer, he became the first man to televise pictures of objects in motion. The Youngest in the family, John was of weak constitution and often remained ill, especially afflicted with cold. This affected his study. He did not have any particular interest in reading. His only interest was photography. He was a member of his school photography club. Boys took photographs all by themselves. The club held a monthly competition wherein the best photograph among those clicked by the students was awarded a prize.

John had another interest too. He conducted experiments using electric wires. He had a particular interest in telephone. He had even linked a telephone line from his home to his friend’s house at some distance and both would talk for hours on this indigenous phone line. On one particular stormy night the wires broke off, and got tangled and coiled around the neck of passerby. Luckily, the man was saved, but John got the scolding of his life and thus ended this saga. As he grew up, his electrical experiments increased. Once, he thought of creating diamonds. He thought out a formula and collected the required material, some of it explosive in nature. But the volatile explosive material suddenly caught fire resulting in a blast. Though he was saved, he vowed never to do such dangerous experiments.

With a view to be an engineer, Baird took up a job at an electricity company. He realized that he had to earn his bread. But he was not much comfortable at his work. One day he was so severely struck by bad cold that he was confined to his bed. To keep himself warm, he wrapped papers on his feet. It worked. This triggered him of an idea to make socks. He brought necessary things the next morning, dyed the cotton yarn in various colours and made colourful socks. He went to a shopkeeper and showed his creation. The shopkeeper bought all the socks and asked him to supply more. Soon, Glasgow dwellers were using this innovative creation of Baird. Later, he employed people for mass production of socks.

He was once again down with severe cold and illness. The doctor advised him to stay at a place with warmer climate. He decided to go to West Indies. He was happy with the prospect of the extended market for socks. But the shopkeepers in West Indies did not show any interest in his socks. He was unable to sell even a single pair of socks. His ever creative mind thought of something else. West Indies had many orchards of lemon, orange and sugar cane. He thought of pickle factory and soon discovered to his horror that the sugar and the sweet aroma of pickles attracted some poisonous insects in the area. They even bit Baird. His health further deteriorated and he returned to London.

The cold climate of London did not suit him as it was very cold there and the doctor advised him to move near the seashore. This worked. On a pleasant evening, while he was taking a stroll on the beach, he heard a song on radio playing at a nearby hotel. Suddenly it struck him: sound could travel far through waves. He wondered if it was possible to send visuals the same way. He started working on this concept. He collected the required material: wire, and empty trunk, batteries, empty cookie tins, bicycle headlight, candle, etc. He worked continuously for days experimenting on the contraption. Finally, he could produce a blurred picture on a screen in his room. Now, he worked hard to obtain a clearer picture. When his landlord came to know about his experiments, he threw him out. But he was undeterred. He returned to London and worked even more enthusiastically. After many days, he succeeded in producing clear images on the screen. Coming to know the experiment and its results, people started dropping at his residence, taking keen interest in his work. Once, Baird made a boy stand in one room and showed his image on a screen in another room. He could even show the movements of the boy clearly on the screen. He was extremely delighted with his success.

He invited scientists and journalists for a demonstration. They appreciated his work and congratulation him for his invaluable invention. Soon, the world knew about Baird and his invention. Initially, the pictures appeared blurred, but soon they became clear. He even succeeded in relaying colored pictures. Now, he started relaying opera and theatre on his television. He even started work on developing a television set. Despite employing many people he was unable to meet the public demand. In fact, he had envisioned a television station on the lines of a radio station. But commencement of World War II marred his plans. Besides, his relay station was also bombarded and destroyed. Meanwhile, he progressed towards the broadcast of colour pictures.

Once again he was struck by a bout of severe cold. This time it was life threatening. He left the experiments midway and returned home. On June 14, 1946, at Bexhill – on-Sea, Sussex, England, this after presenting the world with the wonderful gift – television, the 58 year old John Logie Baird bid adieu.

Irving Langmuir (1881 – 1957)

2011-02-26T08:57:00.001-08:00

Irving Langmuir was born on Jan. 31, 1881 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. His elder brother Arthur played an important role in Irving’s progress. When Irving was nine years old, to sustain his interest in science, Arthur thought of setting up a small laboratory for him. At the age of 11, Irving joined school in Brooklyn. Within a year, his father was transferred to Paris and Irving had to be admitted at a French boarding house in Paris. He loved the school as he could spend as much time in the laboratory as he wanted to. When his father was transferred back to America, he took admission at Pret Institute of Brooklyn where Arthur was an instructor. Besides, he worked in a factory as a chemist. Irving started living at his brother’s place then.

Under such favorable environment he was able to gain more knowledge. He excelled in chemistry and calculus. He used to read all available science magazines and books. Through he lost his father at 17, he never faced any financial problem. In 1899, at the age of 18, Irving got admission in Columbia College. Here, students were given special training related to mine industry. Irving received training as a metallurgical engineer. For further studies, he again went to Europe to study at Gottingen University, Germany for three years. On completion of his studies, Irving was appointed as professor at the Technical Institute in New Jersey. He had a few other offers, but preferred this institute as he would have the freedom and additional time for conducting research.

During the summer vacation of 1909, he got an excellent opportunity to carry out research. A newly established laboratory at New York invited Langmuir for research in the vacation batches and he happily accepted it. Here, he got an opportunity to study tungsten wire used in the electric light bulb. This wire had a short life span as it would burn out very fast. Langmuir conducted research to find the reason behind it. The vacation came to an end, yet he was unable to complete his research. He was requested to continue at the institute as a staff member till the research was over. He accepted the invitation and also got the permission to conduct research on other independent projects simultaneously. Here, he proposed the concept of ‘Pure Research’ which was readily accepted. The vice president in charge of research at the General Electric Laboratory, Willis Rodney Whitney was a visionary. He recognized the importance of Langmuir’s research and readily cooperated.

Langmuir devised a special mercury vapour pump, which could suck out all the air from a bulb, producing a high vacuum in it. He also discovered that some inert gases like argon did react with hot tungsten. The tungsten wire could now be used for longer time. If inert gases like nitrogen or argon were vacuum packed in a tungsten wire bulb, its life could be further extended. This discovery was beneficial to both, the bulb manufacturing companies and the customers. During the same priod Langmuir announced another invention-atomic hydrogen torch. He observed that at a very high temperature, i.e. at the melting point of the tungsten wire, hydrogen atoms got separated (fission). Moreover, when these atoms were reunited (fusion), energy was released. Based on this principle, Langmuir developed the atomic hydrogen torch in 1927. One could weld metal at the temperature of 6000 C with this torch which made welding job comparatively easy.

Even after such a great success, Langmuir was not satisfied. Now, he wanted to know why some elements like argon and helium were inert, while elements like hydrogen and chlorine were active. He began study of the structure of an atom. He possessed sound knowledge of chemistry, physics and mathematics. The atomic number of hydrogen is one. One electron revolves around its nucleus and this orbit is incomplete. The atomic number of helium is two and two electrons revolve around its nucleus in an orbit and the orbit is complete. Neon, the gas on which Langmuir had worked a lot, was an inactive or inert gas. It’s atomic number is ten. It has two electrons revolving in an orbit closer to the nucleus and eight electrons revolving in an orbit away from the nucleus. Neon is inert. The atomic number of Chlorine is seventeen. Out of seventeen electrons two revolve in the first orbit, eight revolve in the second orbit and the remaining seven revolve in the third orbit. The third orbit is incomplete. Chlorine is active because it tends to accept an electron to complete its outer orbit. Atoms of hydrogen and chlorine can share one electron from their outermost orbit. This is the reason why hydrogen easily combines with chlorine to produce hydrochloric acid. Langmuir’s findings about chemical activity were accepted all over the world. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1932. He was the first to use the terms electrovalence and covalence.

He studied various other aspects. He studied certain chemicals for their colours and other external features, a study known as surface chemistry. His studies led to answers to certain basic questions like why certain substances dissolve in water and others do not, why some atoms float on the surface while others sink. His study helped in understanding of some features of catalysis. The General Electric Company appreciated Langmuir’s work and appointed his Vice-chairman of the company. He would travel abroad during the summer vacations with his family. At work, he spent every moment in research. Thereafter, he also carried out research on the Weather and artificial rain. He would create artificial rain in a limited area by sprinkling silver iodide over the clouds.

He retired in 1951, but continued as a guide and adviser to the company as well as to the government. He died in 1957. He spent all his life for the world of science. Apart from the Nobel Prize, he was awarded and conferred upon several other prizes and honours by many scientific institutions.

Guglielmo Marconi (1874 – 1937)

2011-02-23T22:11:00.001-08:00

Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian scientist and inventor, known for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system, which served as the foundation for the establishment of numerous affiliated companies worldwide. He was born on April 25, 1874 in Bologna, Italy. He belonged to an affluent and cultured family, which provided him with the best of education. Marconi was a talented and polite child. Right since school days he carried out experiments and he preferred electrical experiments the most. He was allotted a room in his house which he converted into a laboratory. The room was scattered with wires, poles and tin containers. The enthusiastic youngster spent hours in this laboratory.

It was a time, when Scottish scientist James Clerk Maxwell’s (1831-79) name was on everybody’s lips. He had put forward the unified theory of electromagnetism, and the nature and propagation of electromagnetic waves. Before him, Faraday had discovered electromagnetic waves. Before him, Faraday had discovered electromagnetic induction; a changing magnetic field could produce electricity in an electric conductor. Similarly, any change in electric field could produce a magnetic field. The electric and magnetic effects took some specific field. The electric and magnetic effects took some specific time to travel through air and vacuum. Maxwell had tried to gather information about electromagnetic waves and its propagation through mathematical equations. The speed of such waves was 1,86,000 miles (Approx. 3 lakh kilometers) per second. Such waves traveling through air or vacuum without passing through any wire were also called wireless waves.

When this discovery was being discussed in the scientific world, Marconi was just 15 years old. Once, he took his father into his small laboratory to demonstrate his experiments. He rang an electric bell fixed 15 feet away with such waves. His father appreciated his efforts saying it was a short distance and told him that he should try to cover longer distance. Morconi continued his experiments with keen interest. He hung one wire in the air and buried another wire in the ground. He sent a wireless message up to a distance of about a mile. He felt that he had achieved something remarkable, but he also felt that the people of his country were not able to recognize his genius. So Marconi left Italy and arrived in London. He consulted an officer in the department of electricity and exhibited his findings. The officer was very much impressed with the work done by this young man and promised him all help.

Encouraged by this response, he arranged for a public demonstration of his experiments on the terrace of London’s General Post Office. People applauded his innovative idea and London newspapers the next day were full of praise for this young Italian. Professor Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858 – 1937) of India, However, had already experimented on production and propagation of electromagnetic waves, in 1895. Bose was appointed professor of physics at the Presidency College, Kolkata (Calcutta). He had very limited means and facilities. But he used to make his own equipment out of the scrap available in market. He even had to spend his own money on these experiments. He carried out the experiment on production and propagation of electromagnetic waves in 1884. He demonstrated his discovery in the presence of the British Governor at Town Hall, Kolkata. The waves traveled a distance of 25 meters. A London periodical published two of his research papers. In 1895, he was invited by Royal Society to London, and there he demonstrated publicly the production of electromagnetic waves relaying them through concrete walls. Thus, London had viewed these demonstrations even before Marconi showed them. Bose was invited again for demonstration in 1896, this time in the presence of great scholars including Lord Kelvin. London University awarded him the degree of Doctor of Science based on his research papers published earlier.

Jagadish Chandra, a simple man, never got his invention patented. Hence, the world did not take much notice of his important discovery. Soon, Marconi announced his invention and also secured the patent for the same. Marconi got all the credit for the invention as well as the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1909. Thus, Marconi came to be known as the pioneer of radio telegraphy. The news of this wonderful invention spread all over the world. The Government of Italy invited him to return home and promised all help required for his experiments. Marconi returned home and established a wireless station with the help of government grant. He could successfully send wireless messages to far away sailing naval war ships during the World War I. The Italian royalty also appreciated Marconi’s arrangement. This also fetched him more financial help. He could strengthen his infrastructure which resulted in longer distance propagation of the wireless waves, even across the English Channel. Marconi decided to establish a similar wireless station in Britain. He erected a 200 feet high tower. But before the station became functional, a cyclone razed the tower and other supporting poles to the ground. This did not dishearten Marconi. He decided to erect a 400 feet high tower and soon the wireless messages were transmitted in all the directions to a longer distance.

With his wireless waves, Marconi had served his motherland in World War I. Later on, he established his private and the world’s first radio station at Chelmsford. When Fleming invented the valve, radio receivers with valves were made available in the open market. And with the invention of the transistor after a few years the small transistor radio sets appeared in the market. Marconi was financially very well-off now. Many nations and scientific institutions honoured Marconi soon after he was awarded the Nobel Prize. In 1929 the king of Italy honoured Marconi and his heirs with a pride of place in the royal court. Fortunately, his father Giuseppe lived to witness all these laurels won by his son. In 1927, 53 year old Marconi married 23 year old Countess Maria. Three years later Maria gave birth to a daughter. In 1933, the Marconi couple set out on a world tour. Marconi died in 1937. We can not imagine a world without wireless today. Truly, the credit of enabling us to communicate rapidly through his invention of the wireless communication goes to none other than Marconi.

Robert Millikan (1868 – 1953)

2011-02-21T23:28:00.000-08:00

Every graduate student of physics learns about the classic experiment- Millikan oil-drop experiment to determine the electronic charge. The inventor of the experiment, the world renowned scientist Robert Andrews Millikan, was born on March 22, 1868 at Morrison, Illinois, USA. He came from a family of less means, finance and a large family. Since childhood, he had to do odd jobs to help supplement the family income. The family condition forced all the six siblings in the house to contribute their mite or little earnings, before they could get any formal education.

In 1875, the Millikans moved to Maquoketa, in Iowa State. This small village with a population of 3000 had 13 liquor bars. The village was known for its ruffians and thugs who frequented it. Yet, they stayed here for 11 years. The entire day revolved around the same routine as there was no avenue for them. Going to the gymnasium in the morning, helping the family in domestic duties, playing baseball and then a swim in the river were the kind of activities they indulged in. All such activities ensured that the three Millikan brothers became good body-builders. There was a small village school which the brothers joined. The principal was a teacher of physics, but he was more interested in other activities than his subject. Hence, students too were not inclined towards physics. Millikan took a liking for the Greek language, literature and mathematics.

When asked at a school, “Are you ready to take up job as physics teacher?” he readily agreed out of necessity. He started burning the midnight oil to teach himself physics. Gradually, he picked up and started mastering the subject. He devoted his vacations to the study of physics. Students started attending his classes. The principal too, was pleased with the young man and offered him tutorship with a yearly remuneration of $600. In 1891, he graduated from Oberlin. He also offered his services at the local gymnasium. Meanwhile, his professor recommended him for a fellowship at Columbia University. In the fall of 1893, he was awarded special fellowship. Here, he came into contact with geniuses like Professor Rood, Woodward and Pupin. Under their able guidance coupled with his perseverance, he received his doctorate in 1895.

At that time, America was far behind Europe in theoretical and applied physics. Physicists in Europe were engaged in various researches and in chemistry new vistas opened up. The term of Millikan’s fellowship came to an end and he was not given any extension. On Pupin’s advice, he took a loan of $300 and went to Europe to be part of mainstream research. During 1895-96, he stayed in Europe. It was a time when Becquerel had discovered radioactivity and was continuing experiments in that field. This training helped Millikan to become a good researcher, able administrator and also an excellent professor.

In 1896, Professor Albert Michelson invited Millikan to join his department as assistant at Chicago University. Millikan accepted the offer despite more lucrative offers form other places. He stayed on at Chicago University for 25 years and contributed his career’s best research years. He was made professor in 1910. During his tenure the department of physics gained immense popularity and became the most important centre for study of physics in America. Now those things were moving smoothly. Millikan reduced his teaching and concentrated totally on research. He carried out the oil-drop experiment and concluded that a tiny drop of oil measured to a thousandth part of a millimeter. Earlier, J J Thomson had determined the charge of cathode particles (electrons). In 1909, he performed his famous oil-drop experiment to determine the value of the electronic charge. Millikan reanalyzed it and in 1912 he determined electronic mass with his experiments. He also verified Einstein’s photoelectric equation and obtained a precise value for the Planck’s constant were very accurate; the accuracy of which was not surpassed for several years.

Robert Millikan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1923 for his invaluable contribution in the research on the elementary (electronic) charge and the photoelectric effect. In 1921, he left the Chicago University to join the Norman Bridge Laboratory of Physics at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena and later, became its chairman in 1923. There, he made some initial studies of cosmic rays which were invaluable. He developed a special electroscope, which could be used for measurements on the most powerful cosmic rays. He held the post of chairman of the executive council of the institute until his retirement in 1945. It is to Millikan’s credit that American research in physics got its due recognition. He trained and guided many future researchers, including C D Anderson who discovered positron.

In 1953, at the ripe old age of 87, Millikan passed away. He was one of the scientists who brought America to the forefront of research in physics and guided a young generation of scientists.

Wilbur – Orville Wright

2011-02-03T05:54:00.000-08:00

Wilbur Wright (1867 -1912) and Orville Wright (1871 – 1948) were two Americans who are well known for his inventing and building the world’s first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903. They are also known as the ‘Wright Brothers’, the world over. Wilbur, the elder of the two, was born on April 16, 1867 in Melville, Indiana, USA. Their father Milton Wright was an ordained minister of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. Their mother was Susan Catherine Koerner. Milton Wright met Susan Catherine Koerner when he was training for the ministry, while she was a student at the United Brethren College in Hartsville, Indiana. In 1869, the Wright family moved to Dayton, Ohio State. They bought a small house there. Two years later, on August 19, 1871, younger brother Orville was born. After two years, their sister, Catherine was born. Their father was a priest in a local church. The Wright children did not receive any formal education, but could read and write.

Wilbur and Orville enjoyed flying kites and loved watching birds fly. They always wondered whether it was possible for human beings to do the same. In this regard, they went through many books and also collected information they could lay their hands on. Orville loved to read the newspaper. This led him to be a newsperson at the young age. At 17, he independently published his newspaper. He was the writer, editor and printer of this newspaper. Soon it became quite popular and he asked Wilbur to join him as busy, but got ample opportunity to go through reading materials. They had a dream and it was to soar in the sky. Meanwhile, their mother Susan passed away in 1889. In 1890, they came across the news of a German named Otto Lilienthal who had flown a glider. A glider has no engine, but the pilot balanced the aircraft by changing positions. This news encouraged the Wright Brothers to pursue making of their dream machine.

In 1892, the brothers opened a bicycle shop. Profits from the print shop and the bicycle shop eventually were to fund the Wright brothers’ aeronautical experiments. Through trial and error they succeeded in their experiments and formed the basic principles of flying. They created a small air-tunnel in their bicycle store. They had developed more than 100 types of aircrafts wings. They checked each of them and selected the best pair. They also observed that the birds controlled their movements in air by bending the farthest ends of their wings. So, they changed their wing design to aileron. They built their first glider and flew it as per their expectations. Thereafter, they built a lightweight four-cylinder, petrol driven engine with 12 horsepower. They wrapped velvet over a two-wing wooden structure and built an aircraft with 43 feet (approximately 9.3 metres) long wings.

The brothers were now confident of their success. They invited people to witness the first flight. They had organized the event at Kitty Hawk, near the seashore. They had arranged wooden planks under the aircraft. Orville took his seat in the cockpit. Wilbur pushed the aircraft on the planks. Soon, the aircraft took off into the air. It flew 100 feet high for 12 seconds and then safely returned to ground. It was Wilbur Wright’s turn now. This time, the aircraft went higher up to 812 feet and stayed in air for 59 seconds. The Wright Brothers had realized their dream. Still, a lot more was needed to be done. They decided to make an aircraft with a more powerful engine. To celebrate their success, the brother joined the family for Christmas. Their father’s blessings spurred them further. They continued their experiments and made that could fly up to one and half kilometers. They closed down the bicycle store and concentrated totally on their dream machine. It was also a time when similar experiments were being performed in Europe. Wilbur Wright visited France and impressed Frenchmen with his skills. He even took a government officer along for a ride. The ride lasted for an hour and four minutes. Meanwhile, Orville continued his efforts in America. He also took the locals on trips performing experiments. He once flew an army officer. Unfortunately, the aircraft crashed and the army officer was killed. Orville sustained some injuries.

The Wright Brothers had become famous all over the world. A company contracted them to make aircraft. With money pouring in, they had become rich and famous. December 17, 1903 was a memorable day for the Wright Brothers at 10.35 a.m. they took off on their maiden flight. It became the most memorable day of their lives when they wrote their names in history. The event was celebrated the world over. They had become rich and prosperous, but they were not content. Business did not hold them back. They wanted to experiment more. They restarted their research. Meanwhile, Wilbur died of typhoid on May 30, 1912. Around the same time the house they were building was complete. The grieving family had to move in without Wilbur. On April 3, 1917, their father passed away at the age of 89. Orville Wright was now president of the company. He had become an expert in flying aircraft. He died on January 30, 1948, at the age of 77, in a Dayton hospital. The Wright Brothers became the first human beings to take to wings and because of their persistent efforts reached their goal and the world honoured them with many awards.

The Wright Brothers Photo

Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857 – 1894)

2011-01-31T06:21:00.000-08:00

Heinrich Rudolph Hertz was born on February 22, 1857, in a well-to-do family in Hamburg, Germany. His parents began his education with the intention of shaping his career in architecture and engineering. But soon they realized his interest in pure science and research. He was a curious child with a habit of observing and learning about new ideas and things. Heinrich joined Berlin University, where a person of rare intelligence, versatility and multifaceted personality – Professor Hermann Von Helmholtz, taught various subjects like physiology, anatomy, physics and mathematics.

On the basis of his researches in physics, he conducted research in measurement of the speed of the throbbing of arteries. He produced electromagnetic waves in the laboratory and analysed their wavelength and speed. He also conducted analysis of oscillation and speed. He also conducted analysis of oscillation and speed of sound waves, principles of rhythm in music, gave a new statement on the conservation of energy; principles of the colour spectrum, etc. Besides, he also invented the ophthalmo-scope, to check eye diseases. This equipment is used even today for observation and correct diagnosis of the eye diseases.

Hertz learnt a lot under the able guidance of Helmholtz. At the same time, Helmholtz also realized that he had a very talented pupil in Hertz. Both reciprocated each other with satisfaction. Hertz graduated in 1880 and was soon appointed as his deputy by Helmholtz in his research work in physics.

In 1883, he was appointed professor of physics at Kiel in Northern Germany. He joined it and worked on Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory. The theory of electromagnetism was first published in the form of an essay in 1865. Many of the present day advancements in science are based on this theory. Hertz’s initiation into research brought him fame and provided him a new direction in research. He now concentrated on the experimental study of implication thought out the maxwell’s mathematical equations. He wondered if electromagnetic waves could also travel like light waves. He also began to visualize on the experiments that could be conducted on the subject. Meanwhile, he joined Karlsruhe Polytechnic as professor of physics. Now he thought of conducting research on the production and propagation of electromagnetic waves. He wondered how much time it would take to propagate such waves from one place to another and how to accurately measure such a small interval of time?

Heinrich constructed the world’s first radio transmitter and radio receiver for the purpose, generating radio waves. Prior to this no one had heard about it. Hertz’s equipment later laid the foundation for invention of the modern radio, radar and television. He conducted his experiments in a small 10m X 10m room. A wave traveling from one end to the other and back covered a distance of 20 meters. It was very difficult to measure the time taken by the wave to cover this distance as it was expected to be less than one microsecond. A brilliant idea struck him – a Leyden jar could be used for the pupose. A Leyden Jar (a type of capacitor) could be used as an instrument to measure time because the electric discharge that took place between two points was a very fast process. Another thought that struck him was that there could be some conductor, which could produce electric discharge.

Hertz demonstrated the production and propagation of radio waves (electromagnetic waves of long wavelength). Next, he wanted to prove that however brief, a wave took specific time to another point. For this he once again returned to sound waves and dwelt on Helmholtz’s work. Waves originating from the same source but reaching destination by separated paths could either be weak or very powerful. In terms of frequently modulation one can call them constructive or destructive. As the receiver moves from one point to the other, the vibration will cease at a certain nodal point which in scientific terminology is called destructive interference. The distance between two such points is equal to half the wavelength. Hertz succeeded in measuring the wavelength of an electromagnetic radiation using the phenomenon of interference.

Thereafter, Hertz studied many properties of the electromagnetic waves: like the radiations of light, these electromagnetic waves can be focused, distorted, reflected, refracted, polarized, etc. Similarly, he also measured the speed of the electromagnetic waves, which equaled the speed of light, i.e. 3 X 108 metre/second. Thus, through a series of experiments Hertz proved that the electromagnetic waves were quite similar to light waves. “My experiments have proved the solidarity of Maxwell’s doctrines.” He would say this in all modesty.

In 1889, at a meeting held at Heidelberg, the Association for the advancement of Natural Sciences described and discussed Hertz’s experiments and findings. Researchers and scientists present at the meeting lauded his efforts. At the age of 32, Hertz was appointed professor of physics at the University of Bonn. Hertz met an untimely death, due to blood poisoning, at the age of 37 in 1894. The SI unit of frequency, the Hetz (Hz), is named after him.

Sir J J Thomson (1856- 1940)

2011-01-27T23:24:00.002-08:00

Sir Joseph John Thomson was a British physicist and Nobel laureate. He is well known for the discovery of the electron and of isotopes and also the invention of the mass spectrometer. He was awarded with Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906 for the discovery of the electron and for his work on the conduction of electricity in gases. Thomson was born on December 18, 1856 at Cheetham Hill near the industrial city of Manchester in England. His father sold rare books as a bookseller. This was their traditional family business. There was no scientific background at home, except his uncle who had a casual interest in meteorology and horticulture.

Since childhood days Joseph had the habit of reading. But, life surrounded by books fueled his interest in reading. His family members encouraged him to take up engineering seeing his interest and sincere efforts at study. At the age of 14 he was admitted to Owens College, Manchester. Today this institution is famous as Victoria University of Manchester. Two Years after he joined the college his father passed away. His relatives took up the responsibility of his education. Fortunately, the John Dalton Scholarship also came his way, which further helped his education.

At the age of 20, Thomson successfully completed his graduation in engineering and entered Trinity College, Combridge University on scholarship. The college was a favourite one among students interested in mathematics and science. A competitive examination called ‘Mathematics Tripos’ was conducted here. Thomson appeared for the examination and scored high grades. Like James Clerk Maxwell, he too stood second. Again, following Maxwell’s footsteps, he moved from mathematics to theoretical physics. Though he was not very good at performing experiments, he never underestimated the importance of it. In 1881, at the age of 24, he wrote a research paper, which gives us some idea about Einstein’s theories. In the paper he explained that energy and matter maintain a balance in nature. After obtaining his degree, he also received the fellowship at Trinity. He started research work at the renowned Cavendish Laboratory.

In 1884, the head of the Cavendish Laboratory, Lord Rayleigh decided to relinquish his post and named the 28 year old J J Thomson as his successor. This created uproar. Though there was no doubt about his caliber, his young age caused the abashment. But Thomson lived up to the expectations and successfully managed the affairs of the institution for the next 34 years. He led the institution to become one of the best research institutions in the world. It was a happy coincidence that at the institution where he conducted research, he met his better half. Thomson believed that women could not be good researchers. So, when Rose Paget, a student, approached him with some questions, he thought that she could not follow anything. They married in 1890 and two years later, Rose gave birth to their first child, who later became the famous scientist George Paget Thomson (G P Thomson). In the presence of 80 year old J J Thomson, his son was conferred the Nobel Prize for physics in 1937. G.P. Thomson was awarded the prize for his research on the demonstration of wave nature of electrons.

In 1887, Thomson discovered a very minute particle-electron, and came to be known as the ‘Father of Electron’. With this discovery he proved electrical characteristic property of matter. It was a time when extensive study of cathode rays was on. He stated that cathode rays consisted of electrically charged particles. Some scientists believed that cathode rays and electrically charged particles were totally different entities. But it was equally true that when the cathode rays collided with glass, they produced glow. An electrically charged particle or electron cannot be seen with naked eyes. Thomson also proved the fact that cathode rays deflected in presence of magnetic field, thus proving that cathode rays contained negatively charged particles. His critics argued that mere deflection of cathode rays in presence of magnetic field did not prove that the electrons were negatively charged. Thomson created better vacuum in the cathode ray tube to prove that the cathode rays deflected only due to magnetic and electric fields. He insisted that cathode rays were not just rays but the steam of electrons.

Thomson calculated the velocity of rays by balancing the opposing deflections caused by magnetic and electric fields. Knowing this velocity and using a deflection from one of the fields, he was able to determine the ratio of electric charge (e) to mass (m) if the cathode rays. He also measured the weight of an electron and proved that it was 2000 times lighter in weight that hydrogen atom. He also determined that the velocity of an electron to be 1, 60,000 miles per second.

J J Thomson’s basic research, led to the invention and usage of Television in our day-to-day life. TV is a cathode ray tube where electrons get deflected due to the effect of electric and magnetic fields. Thomson did the same, but none believed him way back in 1897. He even thought of photographing electron. He assigned the task to his student CTR Wilson, who in 1911, devised a method to observe tracks of charged particles by constructing what is now known as Wilson cloud chamber. For his wonderful invention, CTR Wilson was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1927. All such research established the existence of an electron and gave birth to a new science called electronics. With the end of World War I, Thomson gave up the directorship of Cavendish Laboratory to be the chairman of Trinity College. One of his colleague and a friend, Lord Eanest Rutherford, was handed over the charge of Cavendish Laboratory.

Thomson was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1906 for his research in electrical conductivity of gases. The British Government knighted him. Truly, he was a talented teacher, a researcher of the highest order, one who provided excellent leadership to young scientists. Eight of his students were recipients of the Nobel Prize. Sir J J Thomson was known as the ‘Man who split atom’. He also wrote several high quality books for students. Sir J J Thomson, the great scientist, died at the ripe old age of 84 in1940.

Albert Michelson (1852 – 1931)

2011-01-23T23:19:00.001-08:00

Albert Abraham Michelson was an American physicist known for his work on the measurement of the speed of light and especially for the Michelson-Morley experiment. He was the first American to win a Nobel Prize for Physics (1907). Albert Michelson was born on December 19, 1852, to a German Jewish couple in Strelno (now Strzelno), Prussia (presently in Poland). In 1848, the Liberals in Germany advocated equality in taxes and freedom of speech. But by the time of Albert’s birth it was almost clear to them that the changing political scenario would make it difficult for them to live in Germany. And they started leaving the country to safer places. Some of them came to America and among them were the Michelsons who reached New York in 1854. Albert was just two years old then.

After a while, they sailed to the western shore and reached California. By 1849, California had acquired the reputation of the promised land of gold. Albert’s father, Samuel Michelson owned a small dry-fruit shop in Cleaver’s country. Albert received primary education in the local school. For high school, he was sent to San Francisco. He was a bright student. Besides mathematics and science, he was well-versed in handling mechanical devices. For his adroitness, he was given charge of the scientific equipment in the school laboratory. He was paid $ 3 per month for his work.

In 1868, when Albert turned 16, his family moved to Verginia in Neveda State. Here silver mining was a major activity at that time. A year after they came here, his brother Charles was born, followed by the birth of his sister Mariam the next year. Charles went on to earn name as the publicity director of the Democratic Party during American President Franklin D Roosevelt’s regime. Albert graduated from the Naval Academy in 1873. As per Academy rules, he served in the American Navy as ‘assignee’ for two years. On completion of duty, he was called back at the academy and appointed as teacher of physics and chemistry. During this time he developed an interest in the study of light especially the various techniques to measure the speed of light, which sustained throughout his life.

Using Foucault’s method of revolving mirrors, Michelson developed his unique technique to measure the speed of light. With some lens available in his laboratory besides spending $ 10, he developed his technique. He could accurately measure the speed of light in the vicinity of 500 feet. In 1878, his first research paper was published in the American Journal of Science. It was titled ‘Measuring the Velocity of Light’. Using this new technique, the speed of light was found to be 1, 86,508 miles/second.

Thereafter, he concentrated on the colours seen in a soap bubble. He studied the refraction in the surface area of the bubble. He explained that if the layer of soap film has half the wavelength of light, the two waves do not interfere and hence, do not get destroyed. Sir Isaac Newton too had studied the studied the colours in bubble. But he did not believe in the arguments regarding the wavelength of light, so could not put forth any explanation for it.

It was known then that if the thickness of the soap film is known the speed of light can be determined. But it was a difficult task. In 1887, Michelson designed an instrument that made him world famous. This device was called ‘Michelson’ Interferometer’. Even today in colleges’ students of physics use this device to measure the wavelength of light. Here, a partially silvered glass plate divides a light ray into two parts and two such waves coming form different directions would get refracted and interfere to form straight fringes under certain conditions, making it easier to measure the wavelength.

A mystery that puzzled scientists then was whether light waves need a medium to travel like sound waves. How does light travel from the Sun to the Earth? Scientists thought of a substance called ether, but were not sure about it. Michelson and his assistant Morley performed the experiment to test the ether hypothesis. At that time Michelson was professor of physics at the school of Applied Sciences in Cleveland. He later moved to Clarke University and in 1892 joined Chicago University as professor of physics and head of the department. Here, he could concentrate more on research, as his lectures were limited. He was a great disciplinarian. He always assessed his findings. Probably this could be the reason he could not mix freely with his students like Einstein or Fleming. But he had a tender heart and music was his only hobby. He was a good violinist and taught violin to two of his six children from two marriages.

The world of science always held Michelson in high esteem. Several institutions honoured him. He was honoured with the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1907, the first American to receive the award. Eleven universities all over the world conferred on him honorary doctorates. London’s Royal Society awarded him the Rumford Medal. He was also honoured with the Grand Prize in Paris and Exposition Prize in Rome. In 1892, the International Bureau for Weights and Measurements in Paris honoured him by awarding him an honorary Membership.

In 1926, Michelson performed a new experiment to measure the speed of light. In this experiment too he used Foucault’s principle of revolving mirrors. For this a special centre was set up on Mount Wilson in California. Exactly 22 miles, i.e. about 35 kms away on Mt San Antonio, another mirror was placed. Then light waves were sent from Mt Wilson. At the same time mirrors started revolving. The light wave traveled to Mt San Antonio, got reflected from the revolving mirrors and returned to Mt Wilson. During this period the mirror had completed a sixth of its revolution. Thus, he once again proved his technique to measure the speed of light. Michelson worked till his last breath. This great scientist died due to brain hemorrhage at the age of 79 on May 9, 1931.

Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen (1845 – 1923)

2011-01-20T23:26:00.000-08:00

Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen, the man who discovered X-rays, was born on March 27, 1845 in Lennep, in the state of Prussia. His father was a German farmer and his mother was Dutch. He took primary education in Holland and for university education he went to Zurich University, Switzerland. Here, he had the opportunity to work under the famous scientist, Rudolf Clausius. Roentgen’s favourite subjects were electricity, energy, light and elasticity. After receiving his doctorate in physics, he was appointed assistant professor at Wurzburg. He also taught at other universities in Germany and then returned to Wurzburg in 1885 as professor of physics.

Here, along with teaching, he got an opportunity to do research work. He studied the effects of electricity when passed through a gas at a low pressure in a Crookes tube. He carried forward the incomplete work of British scientists Michael Faraday and William Crookes. Faraday had studied the effects of electricity when passed through solid, liquid and gas. Crookes had fixed two electrodes to both ends of a gas, discharge tube and then passed a high voltage electric current through it.

Now, Roentgen had better equipment to produce high vacuum in the tube. Besides, he had a good assistant too, who was an expert glass blower. He would heat the glass tubes and produce desired shapes out of them. He prepared a tube with two electrodes and created near vacuum in the tube. He connected both the electrodes to a high voltage supply. He noticed that rays were produced near the negative electrode. Further study of the rays revealed that they could produce a shadow of the object kept in their path. They even forced a paddled plate to rotate that was kept in their way. When they hit glass they produced green coloured flourescence or glow. These rays, called cathode rays, were deflected by electric and magnetic fields.

Crookes’ cathode rays consisted a stream of electrons. Roentgen tried to further Crookes work from here. He covered the Crookes tube with a thick cloth. In a Crookes tube, the cathode rays traveled from the negative electrode to the positive electrode or anode. He inserted a blade of tungsten as a target between the anode and cathode. When the cathode rays in the tube were deflected after hitting the target, they came through glass and produced images on the photographic plate placed nearby. Roentgen thought that these rays were different from the cathode rays obtained by Crookes, as cathode rays could not pass through glass. Roentgen named these unknown rays ‘’X-rays’ His friends and associates called them Roentgen rays, but later they came to be better known as X-rays. He studied these rays more closely and discovered that even through the photographic plate was wrapped in black paper; the X-rays penetrated it producing the image of the palm on the photo-film. He concluded that these X-rays had the power to penetrate the flesh of a living being. However, they were unable to penetrate the bones as was proved by the image of the palm.

When Roentgen announced his invention and demonstrated it in the assembly of Wurzburg Medical and physical society in December, 1985, experts present in the assembly immediately realized the importance of X-rays in medicine and other fields. It surprised many that Roentgen’s X-rays could penetrate the human flesh. To celebrate Roentgen’s discovery, a dinner and dance party was organized. Many women stayed away from the party, lest the X-rays showed them without clothes in the party.

Gradually, with the spread of information about X-rays, people realized their utility. The misunderstanding regarding the rays also vanished. For his discovery, the Royal Society honored him by awarding him the Rumsford award in 1896. Roentgen was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1901, which was introduced in the same year. Today, X-ray has become extremely useful in detecting fracture in bones, Surgery, etc. They are equally useful in the study of the internal structure of metals and other scientific researches. X-rays were discovered by the end of 1895 and soon followed the discovery of radioactivity by Becquerel and many other important discoveries by some of the greatest scientists like the Curie couple, Rutherford, Planck, Einstein, Fermi, etc.

Following his important discovery in 1895, he was appointed professor of physics and Munich University in 1900. He worked there till he turned 75 in 1920. He died at the age of 78 in 1923.

Wilhelm Roentgen Picture
Wilhelm Roentgen Photo

Dmitri Mendeleev (1834-1907)

2011-01-18T23:43:00.000-08:00

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev was a Russian Chemist & inventor. He is credited as being the creator of the first version of the periodic table of elements. Using the table, he predicted the properties of elements yet to be discovered. He was born on February, 1834 at Tobolsk in Siberia, in the eastern part of Russia. The Cazar was then ruling over Russia. His father was a director of the local school. Dmitri was the fourteenth and the youngest of the siblings. Theirs was one of the leading families of Tobolsk. In 1787, Mendeleev’s grandfather has set up a printing press. His mother belonged to the Tatar’s and was known for her beauty. Her family was also the first to start the glass-manufacturing factory.

Immediately after his birth, his father lost eyesight and so also his job. But his mother was very clever and did not lose her spirit. She restarted the closed glass factory belonging to her parents. This partly helped them financially. The political prisoners of Russia then were deported to Siberia to spend their long sentences. One of Dmitri’s sisters married a revolutionary of the December 1825 revolution. He was educated and was sent out of Tobolsk. After sometime, the glass factory was destroyed in a fire and finally it had to be closed. Learning of Dmitri’s thirst for education and his intelligence, his mother decided to continue his studies. Siberia then, had no reputed educational institutions. She then decided to shift the family to Moscow. Arriving in Moscow was an eye opener and here, he experienced difficulties that one faced in life. Not knowing Russian and speaking only Siberian, he was denied admission in Moscow University. He was 17 years when his determined mother moved the family to St. Petersburg. First thing she did was to teach Russian language to her son. Then she enrolled Dmitri in a Teacher’s training school where he learned physics, chemistry and mathematics. Though knowing only one language, he stood first at the graduation examination.

Dmitri’s health was not as good as it was earlier. He had problem with his lungs. Loss of his mother then completely broke his heart. The doctors expressed their fears that Dmitri would not last beyond six months. He then shifted southwards to Crimea having dry climate. He got a job of a science teacher. But in a short while, war broke out. Dmitri had to shift to Odessa and then to St. Petersburg. He tutored some students at home during his spare time and earned some money doing so.

During this period there was no avenue for progress in Russia especially in the field of science as there were no facilities for research. One had to seek permission of the authorities to study abroad. Mendeleev sought permission for studying at France and Germany. He reached Paris and got a job as an assistant to experimental chemist Henri Regnault. A little later, he established his small laboratory to conduct research at Heidelberg. Here, he came in contact and worked with Robert Bunsen, the inventor of the famous Bunsen burner, and another famous scientist Gustav Kirchhoff. The three got together to construct spectroscope. Spectroscope is used in analyzing light. It is also extremely useful in the study of analysis of chemicals. He attended the local Science congress in Germany. He was fortunate to hear the famous appeal of Stanislao Cannizzaro in favour of Avogadro’s work. Later, he utilized the atomic and molecular mass table of Cannizzaro. As a result, Periodic Table of all elements was constructed in the period 1868-69. This was the greatest contribution of Mendeleev- the Periodic Table of Elements. He got inspiration from here to construct the Periodic Table. After completing study tour of France and Germany he retuned to St. Petersburg. Finding a suitable match, he married only to divorce and settled down after remarriage. He also wrote a research paper on ‘Carbonic Chemical Studies’ in 60 days. Meanwhile, he wrote a thesis on water and alcohol mixture, which got him PhD. In 1865, when he was just 31, in recognition of his immense contribution and service to the progress of science, he was appointed the professor of chemistry at the Petersburg University. Attractive personality and a unique thirst for research led many students to seek inspiration from this young professor. His classes were always well attended.

Scientists were then aware of only 63 elements. It was Mendeleev who gave the Periodic Table, his invaluable contribution. Due to its unique and useful layout, all elements were arranged according to their chemical composition and nature. All 63 elements were arranged according to their atomic weight. The first was the lightest element hydrogen and uranium was the last, being the heaviest in element then. He constructed the periodic table with elements set in seven groups according to regularity in physical and chemical characteristic properties of elements.

Then, Mendeleev concentrated on the gaps in the Periodic Table. He began searching for new elements missing in the periodic Table. He even predicted several of the along with their atomic weights. Among such elements were silicon, gallium, germanium and scandium that were discovered much later. The chemical characteristics predicted by Mendeleev matched exactly with those of the elements discovered later. This periodic table was regularly reviewed. Today, the elements are arranged according to their atomic number. Atomic number stands for the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom of the element. Atomic number of an element is nearly equal to the atomic weight or mass of the element expressed in grams.

Mendeleev died in 1907 at the age of 73 suffering from pneumonia. When he was only 21, doctors had warned that he would not survive beyond six months. But fate had other designs for him. At the time of his death, the number of elements in the periodic table had grown from 63 to 86. There are 92 natural elements. Apart from these elements, scientists have produced some new elements using nuclear reactions. The new element with atomic number has been named mendelevium after him.

Dmitri Mendeleev photo
Dmitri Mendeleev Image

Henry Cavendish (1731 – 1810)

2011-01-17T22:40:00.001-08:00

Henry Cavendish was a British scientist & well known for the discovery of hydrogen. He was born in Nice in France on October 10, 1731. He was the son of Lord Charles Cavendish & Lady Anne Grey. He was a rich man in his time. But his lifestyle and dressing remained that of a common man. He wore mended clothes and worn out shoes. He was a happy, carefree and reserved person. In the 14th century, his grandfather and great grandmother held important positions. He was a nobleman from an aristocratic family. His ancestors included a Lord and a Chief Justice. His ancestor Thomas Cavendish was a great adventurer. He had sailed around the world with his flotilla of ships. Thus, the entire family of Henry held a leading position in the country.

Henry was elder and Fredrick, the younger of the two sons of Lord Charles and Lady N Cavendish. His mother died when Fredrick was born while Henry was just two years old. Henry’s father was a well-known scientist and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. He invented the minimum and maximum temperature thermometers. For his invention he received the prestigious Copley Medal from the Royal Society. In 1742, at the age of 11, Henry was admitted to the boarding school at Hackney. He then studied for four years (1749 – 53) at Peter House College, Cambridge. Religion, religious teaching and religious groups never interested him. But it was compulsory to take up religious study to obtain a graduate degree. Therefore, he left the university without a degree.

Henry and Fredrick stayed in London for some time. They moved to Paris to study physics and mathematics. During their study they received a limited, but sufficient pocket money. When Henry Cavendish was 40, his father died leaving him a fortune as inheritance. Since then he never felt dearth of money. He received good education and his economic condition too, was fine. He felt uncomfortable in the company of women and was also called misogynist. Even for the maidservants he left written instructions. He had few friends. Besides, he spoke very little. He spent little time in activities other than that related to science. He would ask his banker / inventors to take their own decision rather than consult him. He lived detached from this world, his only link being the Royal Society of London. In 1760, at the age of 29, he was appointed the Fellow of the Royal Society. Now, he regularly visited the Fellow club to have food.

At that time, science had yet to reveal the mystery of fire, its significance and its safety. Two German scientists John Bayer and his student George Ernest Stahl had given some insight on fire. Though it was generally accepted it had some inherent flaws. Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, too, at that time accepted Bayer’s conclusions regarding fire. According to Flogisten’s theory, all inflammable substance contains at least two elements: the ash of the substance and the inflammable element Flogisten. When a substance burns, the inflammable element is release. When this element stops coming out, the fire is extinguished. Till now, nobody had tried to analyse Flogisten. Cavendish decided to take up the challenge.

Henry Cavendish studied the subject extensively in the library. Meanwhile, he learnt that Parcelsus and Yan Von Helmont had discovered an inflammable gas. For this they had placed some iron pieces in sulphuric acid. Some bubbles surfaced on the iron pieces. The gas produced through this process was inflammable. They did not work any further on this subject. Cavendish thought that this inflammable gas might be Flogiten. He had set up a small laboratory in his house. He collected some iron, lead and tin pieces, besides hydrochloric acid. He then put an equal number of iron pieces in both acids. He did the same with the lead and tin piece producing hydrogen. As a result of the chemical process some bubbles surfaced. He collected the gas bubbles in separate balloons. He noticed that all the balloons contained samples of inflammable gases and they all produced similar blue flame. On further observation he found that the gases weighed the same and the volume of inflammable gas produced was proportionate to the metal pieces. He concluded that he had succeeded in separating Flogisten. He announced his findings at a meeting of intellectuals of the Royal Society in 1766. Nobody doubted the veracity of his research.

Today, it might seem odd how intellectuals of that time accepted the gas as Flogisten. Cavendish was no doubt a genius. But some time later, French scientist Lavoiseier rejected Cavendish’s theory about Flogisten and declared that the combustible has was not Flogisten but hydrogen. The discovery of hydrogen created sensation among scientists and the public. The fact that hydrogen was lightweight and inflammable and could be produced easily at home attracted the attention of many. As a result, many accidents occurred and some people lost their lives too. Mixture of hydrogen and oxygen can result in an explosion.

In 1783, a hydrogen-filled balloon was flown. Earlier, in 1781, an Italian based in England had publicly demonstrated that hydrogen filled soap bubbles would move upwards. Even before this, a balloon prepared from cloth with paper lining was filled with hot air and flown. A French scientist Jacques Charlie had successfully flown a hydrogen-filled balloon to some height and distance. Of course, no humans traveled in it. When this balloon landed 15 miles away in a farm, the frightened farmers destroyed it. In 1775, a hydrogen-filled balloon carrying humans was flown. But it had suddenly burst killing all the travelers. This incident put a full stop to this activity, until a gigantic balloon was flown in Hindenburg, Germany, and a century and half later, in 1937. It crossed the Atlantic Ocean many a time. During one such flight with 36 passengers, the balloon filled with 90 lakh cubic feet hydrogen, burst while it cleared the sea and was passing through Lake Hurst area in New Jersey. All the passengers died in the accident.

The simple arrangement used by Henry Cavendish in which an electric spark is passed through the mixture of oxygen and nitrogen placed in a tube resulting in their blending. The Royal Society and noted such incidents in which dew was formed with the burning of hydrogen. Priestley had described the blast produced by the fusion of hydrogen and air in a glass jar. In 1784, after many experiments, Cavendish had announced that when oxygen and hydrogen combined, it produced water. Thus, he established that water is not an element but a combination of two colorless gases. Cavendish announced his ‘Experiments on Air’ at the Royal Society. He also said that the air we breathe contains 20 per cent oxygen. He concluded that when there is a spark in the atmosphere, there is a synthesis of oxygen and nitrogen. Thus, lightning in the sky brings together oxygen and nitrogen.

Cavendish lived a lonely life and in 1810, at the time of his death when he was 79, there was no one around to take death when he was 79, there was anyone around to take his care. His funeral was carried out at Derby in England. The local church also set up a memorial in his name. The man who never believed in sect or religion had a memorial in his name. In his will he had declared his entire wealth in his cousin’s name. One who spent his entire life in pursing science, Cavendish did not leave any money for the development of science. But his inheritor set up a chain of Cavendish laboratories to show his indebtedness to science. In 1897, the great scientist J J Thomson discovered the electron at one of the Laboratories. The laboratories also produced many Nobel laureates.

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

2011-01-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and biologist. He is renowned for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. He was born on December 27, 1822 in the town of Dole in Eastern France. His father was in the army. After defeat of Napoleon’s army, he returned to dole. He opened a tannery there. After the birth of Louis the family moved to Arbois in the grapes growing region. His father Jean Joseph was very strong and hardworking. Even though he had not attended any school, he had high regards for educated and intelligent persons. He had great ambition of educating his son. He wished his son to study and become a teacher.

Louis was admitted to the local village primary school. He was an average student. During that time, whenever any one suffered from rabid dog bite, he was taken to an ironsmith. The ironsmith would heat a rod till it become red hot. It was the inserted in the wound where the rabid dog had bit. If the person was lucky, he would survive or else would die. Louis had seen this treatment since he was nine year of age. His heart would sink at the sight of it. He always felt like finding an alternative treatment.

Louis father knew two famous personalities of the village-one a doctor and the other, a historian, D more. Louis father and D More inspired patriotism in him. 15 year old Louis was attracted to line drawing hobby. He was quite successful at it. Some of his drawing were later framed and hung at the Pasteur institute. A local secondary school teacher had noted Pasteur’s ability and predicted that he would become a good teacher. Meanwhile, Pasteur got admission in the science department of the local institute for training teachers. But he did not join the institute, as he was not mentally prepared. During this period, he took keen interest in physics, chemistry and mathematics. Pasteur wanted to be a good teacher. When he excelled in his class at the preliminaries in physics and chemistry, he felt very happy. He took up research work rather than taking up a teaching career.

Pasteur went to the Ecole Normale Superiure, a university in Paris where he studied crystals. Pasteur had then heard lectures on chemistry by the famous chemical researcher and discoverer of bromine, Antoine J Balard. Like Benjamin Franklin, Balard also believed that scientific research could be carried out in a small laboratory; Balard had set up a laboratory for this purpose. When he saw Pasteur, he was impressed by him. He invited Pasteur to assist him at his laboratory. Pasteur happily took up the invitation and joined Balard in his research work. Here he could continue the research finding of Pasteur to Jeane Baptiste Biot, the famous French physicist. He checked the papers and sent them to the French science academy for further evaluation.

In 1848, Pasteur was appointed teacher at the secondary school at Dijon in face of strong apposition from Balard and Professor Biot. Pasteur’s friends and well wishers stepped up pressure on the education ministry. Due to this, Pasteur was appointed as the working professor at Chemistry Department of the Strasbourg University. At the age of 26 years in the year 1849, he married Marie Laurent, the 22 year old daughter of the university rector. Marie was a good wife as well as a very good co-worker in his research work.

Pasteur’s preliminary experiments were on the crystals. His study clearly identified two types of optically active crystals- producing equal and opposite rotation of polarized light. His other important study was about fermentation or food getting sour and having bad smell. This process is due to microorganisms which he clarified. This process is very useful sometimes, while at other times, it spoils and turns to waste the food products. Due to this discovery of Pasteur, the winemakers of France who manufactured wine from grapes were immensely benefited. After extensive study he discovered that microorganisms are responsible for the fermentation process. It is possible to control this process in order to obtain an appropriate resultant benefit from the same.

The second result of this study was of ensuring milk remaining fresh for longer duration by a process now called Pasteurisation. This required milk to be heated to called Pasteurisation. This required milk to be heated to a certain temperature and then cooling it, in order to kill the harmful bacteria. Pasteur was honoured for his work and is known as the ‘Father of Pasteurisation’. Diesease that had entered in the rearing stage of the silkworms affected the production of silk in France. Pasteur undertook study and helped eliminate the same thus saving the industry from destruction. He identified the microscopic organisms responsible for the spreading of diseases caused by microorganisms. The bite of a rabid dog and the disease rabies caused due to it was extensively studied by Pasteur and he finally invented a vaccine for its cure. Known as cure for hydrophobia, a significant achievement then, got him name and fame throughout the world.

He had to face tremendous difficulties and misfortune in his personal life. Jenny, his first daughter died at an early age of 9 years. Again in 1865, his 2-year-old daughter Camilla died after a short illness. In 1866, his 12 year-old son sybil died of typhoid. When France and Germany was at war in 1871, his son Jeane Baptiste of 20, was declared lost during the action. Pasteur left all his works and went out in search of his lost son. Finally, by God’s grace, Baptiste returned home with injury. He started recovering slowly. Pasteur was very angry with the Germans. Years later the German government wanted to honour him by presenting him a medal for his achievements. Pasteur however, did not accept it.

On September 28, 1895, Louis Pasteur died leaving the world with memories of his great achievements like the Anti-Rabies vaccine, Pasteurisation and the path that he found to eliminate diseases.

Louis Pasteur Images
Louis Pasteur Photo

Madame Marie Cruie (1867-1934)

2011-01-16T06:26:00.001-08:00

Madame Marie Cruie was a French physicist and chemist famous for her work on radioactivity. She was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity and the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes, first in physics and second in chemistry. She was also the first female professor at the University of Paris.

Maria Skłodowska was born on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw, Poland. Her father belonged to a farmer family, but studied at the Warsaw High School and took up teaching mathematics and physics there. Her mother was a good pianist. When Marie was 10 years old, she lost her mother due to tuberculosis. At that time, the Russian Czar ruled Poland. Marie’s father was forced to leave school for his revolutionary speeches and took up the cause for freedom struggle. He started a boarding house for students, but it did not do well. He could hardly manage a square meal for his family. Marie’s elder siblings Bronia and Joseph won gold medals at high school. Joseph was admitted at university to study medicine. Poland did not have any provision for higher education for girls, so her father asked Bronia to take tuitions in Warsaw, save some money and then go to Paris for further medical education.

Since childhood, Marie had a very good memory and at 17, won the gold medal on completion of her education from the school at the Russian lycee. As her father, a teacher of mathematics and physics, lost his savings through bad investment, she had to take work as teacher and at the same time, took part clandestinely in the nationalist ‘free university’ reading in Polish to women workers. To improve her failing health, her father sent her to spend some time in the rural area. On her return after a year, her father found her a healthy and beautiful girl. Seeing the family’s weak financial condition, both sisters decided to help their father. One would work and the other would continue study. Bronia left for Paris to study medicine and Marie started earning. After struggling to get some decent work, she was engaged as a governess. Gradually, she became part of that family. When the eldest son of the family studying at Warsaw University returned, he immediately took a liking for Marie. Both were attracted towards each other. But his mother did not approve of this relationship between her son and a maid. Heartbroken, Marie left the job. She even thought of committing suicide, but nature had something else in store for her. She soon got another job. Meanwhile, Bronia completed her studies and married a classmate. Sometime later, her sister asked Marie to join them in Paris.

In Paris, the 23 year old Marie resumed study in science at Sorbonne University. She worked very hard for four years. She rented a small room on the upper floor of a house in a poor locality and concentrated fully on her education. She lived a life with limited means. Winters were particularly difficult, for she had a few warm clothes. Meat, wine or eggs were luxuries she could ill-afford. She used to earn by doing odd jobs. She appeared for her post-graduation examination in physics in 1894 and stood first. Next year, she again appeared for mathematics and stood second. She had finally realized her dream.

Keeping her father’s word Marie had excelled at studies and returned home. An aging father and poor family conditions made her realize that she had to cut short her studies in Paris and stay at home. But destiny willed otherwise. In Warsaw, she met a rich lady from an aristocratic family. After hearing Marie’s story, she arranged for her scholarship. Encouraged by future prospects, Marie immersed herself in further study. With her father’s blessings she set off to Paris. Improvement in her family’s financial situation, coupled with her good results, spurred her to concentrate on her studies. Once, a Polish scientist Prof Kowalski came on a discussion. Here, she met another talented young man – his wish to see her again. After courting for a year, they got married. Marie Sklodowska became Madame Marie Curie. Pierre was a scholar and a wonderful human being. He had graduated with physics at the age of 16 and acquired a post degree at 18. Besides, he had also researched on piezo electric effect. His father was a well-Known doctor. After marriage, Marie and Pierre Curie started working together.

Meanwhile, German scientist Wilhelm Roentgen had discovered X-rays, a short wavelength radiation having immense capacity to penetrate through solid objects and across the world of science. At the same time, Henri Becquerel was carrying out research on fluorescence. After several experiments, he had come to the conclusion that there was some other element besides uranium in the raw metal pitchblende. Impressed by Marie Curie’s talent, he came to meet Marie to seek answers to some problems he had been facing. Marie and Pierre Curie took up the challenge willingly. In 1896, Becquerel discovered that some unknown rays constantly emanated from pitchblende. These rays were initially called Becquerel rays. Later, Madame Curie worked on it extensively and named this radiation type of activity as radioactivity, and the rays were called radioactive rays.

In 1897, Marie gave birth to a healthy baby girl. She was named Irene. Some time later, Pierre’s mother passed away. His doctor father moved in to live with the Curie family. Marie had left her daughter, Irene, under the care of a maidservant. Having a father-in-law around with a baby girl, under the care of the maidservant, they could work hard in the laboratory. Later Irene followed the footsteps of her illustrious parents and earned fame. Along with her scientist husband Juliot, she won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935.

The Curie couple was sure that in pitchblende besides uranium, there was some strong radioactive element present. To separate this element from uranium was a challenge. Pitchblende was a very expensive ore and was not easily available. They came to know that Austria possessed pitchblende in abundance. They requested the Austrian government to release some pitchblende after separating uranium from it, for their research. The government agreed to provide the ore free, but the transportation was to be borne by the Curies. Finally, tons of pitchblende arrived in ships and were unloaded in a wooden shed in the Curies’ laboratory. They placed the pitchblende in a huge iron pan and allowed it boil. Thus, an unused shed became their laboratory. Two years of perseverance resulted in the separation of a small quantity of a compound of bismuth which was 300 times more powerful in radioactivity than uranium. In July 1898, they announced the discovery of a new element, which was named polonium after Poland, Marie’s motherland. All this time, they were aware that their search for the most powerful radioactive elements and at the end of crystallization process they noticed some crystals of the new element radium.

In 1903, the Curie couple shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with Henri Becquerel. The Curie couple had then become world famous. In 1904, Marie gave birth to their second daughter Eve. Life was looking up and things were moving smoothly. Tough days and despair had gone and the family was now comfortably settled. On April 19, 1906, Pieree Curie, while returning home after attending a meeting, was run over by a farm cart in the rue Dauphine in Paris and died instantly. Marie’s world suddenly turned dark. But this spirited woman took up the responsibilities to fulfill Pierre’s dream. As a special case, the French Department of Education appointed Marie as a professor in place of Pierre and honoured her. No woman was ever given such a high position by the university. Many turned jealous about this. She continued taking care of her family, while continuing her research and taught at the university simultaneously. She efficiently discharged all the responsibilities that she shouldered. In 1910, she succeeded in isolating pure radium. In 1911, she was once again honoured with the Nobel Prize. It was for Chemistry this time. Madame Curie was the first person to receive this honour twice and that too in two different branches of science.

In July, 1914, Madame Curie fulfilled the dream of her late husband to establish a huge laboratory in Paris in his fond memory. Meanwhile, World War I had begun, so it could not become operational. Moreover, her colleagues were engaged in war duty. Soon after the war ended, the laboratory started functioning. On July 4, 1934, this spirited lady and first woman scientist to receive the Nobel Prize breathed her last near Sallanches, France.

Enrico Fermi (1901- 1954)

2010-12-09T08:13:00.000-08:00

Enrico Fermi was a famous Italian physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics. He was awarded with Nobel Prize in 1938 for "his discovery of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, and for the discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutrons."

Enrico Alberto Fermi was born in Rome, the capital of Italy, on September 29, 1901. His father, Alberto Fermi had no formal education, but with sheer hard work and sincerity he had reached the post of a regional head of the railroad. Enrico’s mother was a primary school teacher. Enrico was the youngest child among three Fermi children born in three consecutive years. He was an energetic and imaginative student prodigy in high school and decided to become a physicist. His mother did not keep well at the time of his birth. So, he was sent to the countryside. He returned after three years to meet his elder brother and they got along very well. They made many toys, including various models of airplanes and battery driven cars.

When Enrico was 14, his elder brother met an untimely death. This incident saddened him. It was a shock to his mother, who could not bear this loss. Shy and reserved, Enrico could not imagine a life without his elder brother. However, his elder brother’s classmate Enrico Persico came in to fill the void. Not only their names, they also shared interests and views. They started working together on various experiments. Together they developed the theory of gyroscope based on the lines of force of the earth’s magnetic field.

In 1918, at the age of 17, he entered the college, which is associated with the University of Pisa. He wrote a detailed essay on vibrating fibers which earned him a scholarship. Now, he could easily provide for his education. There, he earned his doctorate at the age of 21 with a thesis on research on X-rays. After a short visit in Rome, Fermi left for Germany with a fellowship from the Italian Ministry of Public Instruction to study at the whose contributions to quantum mechanics were part of the knowledge prerequisite to Fermi’s later work.

In 1926, his paper on the behavior of a perfect, hypothetical gas impressed the physics department of the University of Rome, which invited him to join as a professor of theoretical physics. Within a short time, Fermi brought together a new group of physicists, all of them in their early 20s. In 1926, he developed a statistical method for predicting the characteristics of electrons according to Pauli’s exclusion principle, which suggests that there cannot be more than one subatomic particle that can be described in the same way. The particles which follow Fermi Statistics are called fermions. Protons, electrons and neutrons are fermions.

Here, he met a Jewish student who later became his life-partner. He married Laura Capone in 1928 by whom he had two children, Nella in 1931 and Giulio in 1936. His research work had geared up. More than 30 of his research papers in various fields were published by 1927. Impressed with his work, the Royal Academy of Itlay in 1929, made him the youngest member of the academy. The Italian government conferred on him the title of ‘His Execellency’ and gave him a special dress reserved for the lords, good income and a sword to carry at royal functions. His theoretical work at the University of Rome was of vital importance, but fresh discoveries prompted Fermi to turn to experimental physics. In 1932, the existence of neutron, a neutral particle was discovered by Sir James Chadwick at Cambridge University. The nucleus of an atom consists of protons and neutrons. In 1933, Fermi put forward the theory of beta decay in which a neutron becomes a proton by emitting an electron and antineutrino.

In 1934, Frederic and Irene Joliot-Curie in France were the first to produce artificial radioactivity by bombarding elements with alpha particles, which are emitted as positively charged helium nuclei from polonium. Inspired by this work, Fermi thought of an idea of inducing artificial radioactivity by another method using neutrons obtained from radioactivity beryllium, but reducing their speed. Passing them through paraffin, he found the slow neutrons were especially effective in producing radioactive isotopes. He used this method successfully on a series of elements. When he used uranium (atomic number 92) as the target of neutron bombardment, however, he obtained radioactive substances that could not be identified.

Fermi’s colleagues were inclined to believe that he had actually made a new, transuranic element of atomic number 93; that is, during bombardment, the nucleus of uranium had captured a neutron, thus increasing its mass number followed beta decay to give the element with atomic number 93. Fermi did not make this claim, for he was not certain what had occurred; indeed, he was unaware that he was on the edge of a magnificent discovery the world was unaware of. He modestly observed years later, “We did not have enough imagination to think that a different process of disintegration might occur in uranium than in any other element. Moreover, we did not know enough chemistry to separate the products from one another.” One of his assistants commented that “God, for his own inscrutable ends, made everyone blind to the phenomenon of atomic fission.”

Before this, the Fermis went on a lecture tour round the world. They went to Michigan University for a lecture series in 1930. In 1934, they visited Brazil and Argentina. Meanwhile, the political scene in Italy was changing drastically, Hitler and the Nazis in Germany and Mussolini and the Fascisits in Itlay had become all powerful. The anti-Jewish slogans on the wall disturbed Fermi because his wife was a Jew.

In December 1938, Fermi was invited to Sweden for receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics. He took permission for himself, wife, two children and their governess to visit Sweden. Sensing the tricky political situation in Italy, he decided to go directly to New York instead of Italy. He had already secured a post at Columbia University. Thus, he continued his work in America.

Meanwhile, in 1938, three German scientists repeated some of Fermi’s early experiments, after bombarding uranium with slow neutrons. Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner, and Fritz Strassmann made a careful chemical analysis of the products formed. On January 6, 1939, they reported that the uranium atom had been split into several parts. Meitner, a theoretical physicist, secretly slipped out of Germany to Stockholm, where, together with her nephew, Otto Frisch, she explained this new phenomenon as a splitting of the nucleus of the uranium atom into barium, krypton and smaller amounts of other disintegration products.

Meitner realized that this nuclear fission was accompanied by the release of stupendous amount of energy by the conversion of some of the mass of uranium into energy in accordance with Einstein’s mass-energy equation, that energy (E) is equal to the product of mass (m) times the speed of light squared (c2), commonly written E=mc2.

Fermi, learnt of this development soon after arriving in New York and realizing its far reaching implications, rushed to greet Niels Bohr on his arrival in New York City. The Hahn-Meitner-Strassmann experiment was repeated at Columbia University, where, after a lot of thinking, Bohr suggested the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction. It was agreed that the uranium-235 isotope, differing in atomic weight from other isotopes of uranium, would be the most effective isotope for such a chain reaction.

Fermi and other eminent scientists like Leo Szilard and Eugene Wegner felt that world peace would be endangered if Hitler’s German scientists use the principle of the nuclear chain reaction to produce the atom bomb. They drafted a letter, which was signed by Einstein. On October 11, 1939, the letter was delivered to the then American President Franklin D Roosevelt Promptly acted on their warning and sanctioned the famous ‘Manhattan Project’ in 1942 to produce the first atom bomb.

Fermi was assigned the task of producing a controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. If we burn a piece of paper, it catches fire at one corner, then the sides and ultimately the entire area. The chain reaction is similar to this process. He designed the necessary apparatus, which consisted of graphite and heaps of uranium and uranium oxide. He used approximately six tons of metal in it. He also inserted cadmium strips into it to control the speed of the process. It was named atomic pile by Fermi. On December 2, 1942, Fermi led the team of scientists who, in a laboratory established in the squash court in the basement of stag field at the University of Chicago, achieved the first self-sustaining chain reaction.

Let us see the chain reaction from close quarters. A neutron collides with the uranium nucleus and with a blast it divides it into two parts, creating energy. At this time two or three neurons are ejected and a large amount of energy is released. The new neutrons then go on to repeat the same process with other nuclei takes place producing immense energy. The testing of the first nuclear device, at Alamogordo Air Base in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, was followed by the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively.

At the Metallurgical Laboratory of the University of Chicago, Fermi continued his studies of the basic properties of nuclear particles, with particular emphasis on mesons, which are the quantized form of the force that holds the constituents of the nucleus together. He worked as a consultant in the construction of the synchrocyclotron, a large particle accelerator at the University of Chicago. In 1950, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Society of London.

Fermi made highly original contributions to theoretical physics, particularly to the mathematics of subatomic particles. Moreover, his experimental work in neutron – induced radioactivity led to the first successful demonstration of nuclear fission, the basic principle of both nuclear power and the atomic bomb. The atomic pile in 1942 at the University of Chicago released for the first time a controlled flow of energy from a source other than the Sun; it was the forerunner of the modern nuclear matter for peaceful purpose. Fermi’s name has been commemorated in physics in various ways. Element 100, fermium and the unit of length 10 -15 meters the Fermi, were named after him, as was the National Accelerator Laboratory, Fermilab, at Batavia, near Chicago.

It is a general belief in the world of scientists that two masterminds worked towards the attainment of this dream project-Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi. The American Atomic Energy Commission awarded Fermi $ 25000 in November 1954, for his contribution in the development of an atom bomb. He died of cancer just 12 days later. Today, scientists are working to use radiation to cure the disease that killed Enrico Fermi.

Max Planck (1858 – 1917)

2010-12-08T08:25:00.000-08:00

Max Planck was a German physicist and considered as the founder of the quantum theory, and thus one of the most important physicists of the twentieth century. He was a man of strong spirit and great will power Planck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck was born on April 23, 1858, in the Baltic seaport city of Kiel, Germany. Kiel was then ruled by Denmark. Max was the sixth child of a distinguished professor of law at kiel. Soon, Kiel was freed from Denmark with the German army’s help. His father then joined as professor of Law at the Munich University. Max came from a distinguished and educated family. His relatives had earned name and fame in the fields of law, public services as administrators, and as scientists and preachers among others.

When Max was 9 years old, his father shifted the family from Kiel to Munich as he was appointed professor at the Munich University. Max began his school education at the Maximiliam Gymnasium in Munich. Here, he came in contact with a philosopher and a dedicated professor of physics who inspired and drew him towards physics and mathematics. He was also fond of music. His family would support and encourage him in his musical pursuits. He became a very good pianist and playing piano became a passion of his life time. He would relax playing it after a hard day’s work. He also loved the outdoors, taking long walks each day, hiking and climbing in the mountains during vacations, even when he grew old.

He studied at Munich University from 1874 to 1876 and from 1879 to 1880 and at Berlin University from 1877 to 1878. He had the opportunity to study under the able guidance of professors Hermann Helmholtz and Gustav Kirchhoff. He presented his thesis on the expansion of hydrogen when it was passed through palladium. It earned him doctorate in 1880. This was his first and last experimental research and it lay at the core of the now known as planck’s constant h, in 1900. The value of h found by planck was 6.55 X 10 -27 erg-second, close to the modern value. After his doctorate, he did research in theoretical physics. It did not take long for Planck’s intelligence and brilliance to get noticed. He was appointed assistant professor at Munich University and soon, he moved to Kiel as professor of Theoretical physics. At the age of 31, he was appointed professor of physics at the Berlin University. He was contemporary of the famous physicists Sir J J Thomson and Heirich Hertz.

Max’s intellectual capacities were however, brought to a focus as a result of his independent study, especially of Rudolf Clausius’ writings on thermodynamics. It is a systematic study of the relationship between heat, work, temperature and energy. In fact, thermodynamics and the science of light are closely related. Normally, a thermometer is used to measure temperature up to a certain degree and for temperatures above that, it is determined from the spectrum of the substance. An optical pyrometer is used to measure the temperature of a furnace. Heat and light are in fact types of energy. So, Planck extended his study beyond thermodynamics to study light. He faced some theoretical problems in his research on radiation. He researched on the amount of light needed to produce heat. He discovered that very little amount of heat brightens a substance. Every object has some amount of heat due to which it glows. But in reality it does not happen so! All his calculations were correct. Thus, he felt there were certain loopholes in the established laws regarding light. This revolutionary scientist took up the challenge to question and rejects the age-old prevailing principles.

Planck formulated new principles. He put forward the hypothesis that light is a stream of energy and energy emitted in specific amounts or quanta. According to him, different levels contain different amounts of energy. According to planck, the energy associated with a quantum of radiation is proportional to the frequency of radiation, and the constant of proportionality (now called planck’s constant h) is a universal one. Planck’s new theory came to be known as ‘Quantum theory’. Max planck presented his new theory to the German Science Academy in December 1900. Many scientists present at the meeting did not accept the new theory. They had another reason. They found the age-old theory of light-Copscular Theory or particle theory being revoked here. They felt that the wave theory readily explained reflection, refraction, interference and polarization, etc. of light. So, how could the wave theory be dismissed? They were not mentally prepared to accept this.

At the same time, Albert Einstein was working on his Theory of Relativity in Switzerland. He made it clear that Planck’s Quantum Theory could easily solve some problems of Photo electricity, which the wave theory failed to solve. In 1905, Albert Einstein used Planck’s idea of light quantum hypothesis to explain photoelectric effect which could not be explained using the wave theory of light. In 1913, Einstein arrived at Berlin and the two great scientists of the time came together and became great friends. They shared their common interest in music-playing piano. Einstein contributed significantly in establishing the quantum theory. Steadily, the scientists of the world accepted Planck’s quantum theory. In 1918, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for his quantum theory of light.

Planck was a man of strong spirit and will power. If he had been less tolerant, less philosophical and had even lesser religious belief, he probably could not have succeeded in overcoming the tragedies that marred his life after his 50’s. In 1909, his first wife, Marie Merck, daughter of a Munich banker, died after 22 years of happy marriage, leaving Planck with two sons and twin daughters. He married again and had three children from the second marriage. He lost his elder son Karl in action in 1916 during World War I. The following year, Margarete, one of his daughters, died in childbirth, and in 1919 the same fate befell Emma, his second daughter. The terror unleashed by the Nazis compelled his two dear friends Albert Einstein and Erwin Schrodinger to leave Germany for good. He was to face further tragedy with the advent of World War II. The house in Berlin where he lived was totally destroyed be bombs in 1944.

The Nazis could not compel Planck to sign the Declaration in favour of Nazism. He was constantly harassed to sign it, but he did not do so. They again approached him in 1944 with even more pressure. Planck was 86 years old then, while his only remaining son Erwin, was in prison accused of being a traitor. They agreed to release Erwin provided Planck signed the Declaration. But Planck categorically refused to sign and as a result, Erwin was shot dead. Later, he lost his property and his personal library in war blitz. This old scientist withstood all the tragedies without forsaking principles which were so dear to him.

Germany suffered a massive defeat at the hands of the allied forces. A new and strong German nation emerged as the Nazi regime came to an end. Nazism lost its grip over the psyche of the people. New German administrators organized a grand function to celebrate the 90th birthday of this great scientist. Unfortunately, he passed away on October 4, 1947, a few months before the big day. The Kaiser Wilhelm Academy of Science was renamed Max Planck Academy of Science in honour of this great man. Moreover, the German medal for foremost research called Max planck medal is awarded every year in his honour.

Scientist Max Planck Photo

Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630)

2010-12-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

Johannes Kepler, a mathematician, astronomer and astrologer was born on December 27, 1571 at Wiel der Stadt, Wurtemberg, Germany. He is best known for his eponymous laws of planetary motion, codified by later astronomers, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican Astronomy. These works also provided one of the foundations for Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation. Students of astronomy still study his theory. His father was a mercenary soldier and his mother was a daughter of an innkeeper. When he was four year old, a bout of smallpox weakened his eyesight and affected his health. Despite such difficulties, young Johannes Kepler was a bright and intelligent boy.

Kepler completed his early education in a local school and then at a nearby seminary for aspiring priesthood. He went on to enroll on a scholarship at the local University of Tubingen, the (as now) a bastion of Lutheran orthodoxy and in 1591, obtained master’s degree in theology. His favorite subjects were mathematics and science. During his study he was introduced to Copernicus’ theories. The way planets revolve round the Sun interested him. He now gave up his ambition of becoming a priest.

In 1594, at the age of 23, he was appointed as lecturer of mathematics at Grates University. He then married a girl from a rich family. Things started looking up and it seemed he had found a definite direction in life. Kepler belonged to the Protestant faith. Communal disturbance and strife forced him to abandon Grates University in 1597. This great mathematician and scientist had a liking for theology. He linked all of life’s incidents with it. He believed that he had no faith in astrology.

When Kepler left Grates University, it so happened that Denmark’s famous astronomer Tycho Brahe had settled in Prague after being banished from his country. Brahe was opposed to the Copernicus theories. He believed more in the Almighty’s universal principles. Brahe’s observations regarding the stars were aplenty. Kepler got an opportunity to work with Brahe. Brahe appointed Kepler as his assistant and torchbearer. Kepler then firmly believed that the sun was the centre of the universe and not the earth.

In 1601 AD, Tycho Brahe passed away, but Kepler’s planetary calculations continued. After analyzing Brahe’s works Kepler came to certain conclusions regarding the motion of planets, which were noteworthy. Thus, the geo-centric (earth at the centre) planetary observations that Ptolemy made were focused on to Copernicus observations that planet revolved round the Sun in circles. Kepler improved upon this theory and proved that the orbits of planets were not in circles but in flattened circles or ellipses. His important observations came to be recognized as Kepler’s Laws. Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion are as follows:-

1) The orbits of the planets are ellipse, with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse.

2) The line joining planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times as the planet moves around the Sun.

3) The squares of the periods of any two planets are proportional to the cubes of their mean distance from the Sun.

Kepler concluded further that the Sun has a major influence on the motion of planets. Some magnetic force worked between the Sun and the planets. After almost half a century, Isaac Newton propounded the Lows of Motion and Gravitation. Even today Kepler’s and Newton’s laws are considered path-breaking.

He had made a deep study of human sight and telescope. This way he laid the foundations for the development of telescopes for the study of celestial bodies.

Regarding Kepler’s novel discovery that planets move in elliptical orbits around the Sum, many feel it is incomplete. There is regular change in the planetary motions around the Sun. Through calculations he also concluded how much time celestial bodies take to complete one orbit around the Sun take less time in orbit. It can be said that Johannes Kepler’s discoveries would have contributed a great deal to the Laws of Gravitation propounded by Isaac Newton. 12 years before Isaac Newton was born, this great scientists died in 1630 of fever at Regensburg at the age of 60.

Johannes Kepler Photo

Prof. J. J. Chinoy (1909 – 1978)

2010-12-04T08:18:00.000-08:00

India’s great scientist and Gujarat’s famous Jamshedji Chinoy was born on February 19, 1909 in Kachchh-Bhuj. He was the son of Jijabhai & Gulbai Chinoy. He had his college education in Mumbai. In 1929, he cleared B.Sc. in Botany with a first class with distinction from Mumbai University. After losing his father at a very young age, he was brought up by his grandfather. Some years later, his grandfather too, passed away. With courage and hard work he surged forward. Considered a bright student in school and college, he regularly took part in various debates.

Having stood first at the graduate level in his subject, he was awarded the Dakshina Fellowship by Mumbai’s Government College, better known as Royal Institute of Science at that time. Besides, he received Mumbai University’s Research Fellowship. In 1931, he cleared MSc. with first class honours. Because of his promising career and good results; after he completed post- graduation, he went to Britain on a Research Fellowship. To do Ph D from London University, he joined the Imperial College. There he had the unique opportunity to undertake research under the guidance of work-renowned botanist professor F G Gregory. In 1935, he was awarded the Ph D degree by London University.

After completing PhD he returned to India and joined the Central Cotton Committee at Layalpur as physiological assistant. In 1941, he joined the Indian Agriculture Research Institute as Assistant Economical Botanist. When India attained independence, more doors opened for brilliant research scientists. Meanwhile, this brilliant research scientist was invited to join as Reader at the botany department of Delhi University. He accepted it wholeheartedly. Thus, he became associated with university education. He taught for 22 years at the post-graduate level and was engaged in research. Many of his research papers were published during this time. He also actively participated in many research workshops and seminars abroad.

In 1959, when he got the opportunity to join Gujrat University, he snapped it to serve his native place. He joined as professor and head of the botany department. Meanwhile, from 1962 to 1974, he was also the director of the University School of Sciences. For the last 50 years he was engaged in pure and applied research. His research work received recognition form various institutes and the science world. In 1959, at the ninth International Botany Congress held at Montreal in Canada, he headed the plant physiology section. In 1961 for his outstanding research, Gujrat University awarded his the Dr. K G Naik gold medal. In 1964, he was specially invited to represent India and take active part in the discussions at the tenth International Botany Congress in Edinborough. In 1975, he was selected as the working vice-president of the twelfth International Botany Congress held at Leningrad in Russia. At this congress he was awarded a special medal for his exceptional research work.

Besides, Chinoy also visited the world-famous biological research schools in England, Holland, France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Norway and Russia. In many of these countries he honoured the invitation extended to him by the science academies to lecture in their lecture series. He was appointed Fellow of Indian Academy of Science. Besides, there was a demand for his lectures at the botany seminars held at Bhavnagar, Vadodara , Kolkata and other places in India. In these seminars he was invited as president, vice-president or chief speaker. Wherever possible he would go, there would be exchange of thoughts and others would be benefited by his knowledge. He was the patron member of the Plant physiology Society of India, besides serving as honorary secretary, vice-president and president. The prestigious Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Memorial Prize awarded every year by the New Delhi based Indian Council for Agriculture Research, was awarded to Chinoy for 1974-75, for his agriculture botanical research.

Chinoy had developed a plant strain with disease-free and fast growing seeds besides seeds that required less water and could be grown during droughts. He contributed immensely towards cellular and molecular biology. More than 250 research papers of his were published in national and international magazines. Under his leadership a group of leading scientists was working on plant physiology at Gujrat University. This group received recognition in India and abroad. Under his able guidance more than 100 students got their PhD degrees. These students are holding high posts in well-known research institute within the country and abroad. Till his last breath, Chinoy rendered service in this field. Even after retirement he continued his honorary services. Under the aegis of the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, Chinoy conceived the book ‘Role of Ascorbic Acid in Plant Metabolism’. This great scientist who believed in the adage ‘Work is Worship’ remained active till the end of his life.

Chinoy was an optimist and mild-mannered. Nobody ever found him furious. Punctuality and discipline were his watchwords. He cared for his students, employees and co-workers. He understood their personal problems and always tried to help them. He believed that if there is no teamwork there could be no worthwhile research even though the laboratory is well-equipped. With a smiling face he would enter the department on time and the entire department would liven up. It was said that he had a sweet tooth. His voice and speech too, were melodious and sweet-sounding.

On March 12, 1978 at the age of 69 years, the country’s great scientist Chinoy took leave from us forever. He has departed mortally, but left a body of sincere students behind. We will always remember this honest son of the soil and scholar of Gujrat through his works.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543)

2010-10-18T06:47:00.000-07:00

Nicolaus Copernicus was a mathematician and astronomer who proposed that the sun was stationary in the center of the universe and the earth revolved around it. He was born on February 19, 1473, in Torun city of Poland in Europe. His was the son of Copernide and Barbara. Nicolaus was the youngest among two sons and two daughters. Torun was a big and prosperous trade centre at the time of the birth of this great scientist. His father was a scholarly magistrate of the city. Besides, he was a rich, cultured, distinguished social worker and a well-wisher of society. When Nicolaus was 10 years old, his father died. The children were then put under the care of their uncle Lucas. His uncle was a priest and educationist. He was a respected figure in society. It was but natural for the children to be brought in a cultured and religious environment. Young Nicolaus had made up his mind to become a preacher and accordingly focused his energies in this direction.

At the age of 18, Copernicus joined the Cracow University in Poland’s capital Cracow. It was a well-known institute at that time with some of the best teachers in the land. A highly reputed institute, it attracted intelligent students from as far as Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Switzerland who came here to study. Latin was prominent and important medium of instruction. To have a better understanding of literature, science and other subjects, it was essential to know Latin. After joining the university, Copernicus too gained proficiency in Latin. He then started taking deep interest in astronomy, geometry (mathematics) and geography besides other important areas of study then. It was a time when Columbus was successful in discovering the new continent of America. Copernicus was 10 Years old then. With time, sea voyages were on the rise and with bigger ships and increasing sea travel, more emphasis was laid on astronomy. The need for accurate almanacs was felt, for festivals were celebrated according to the dictates of the church. Such was the state of society during that period.

Copernicus education took a different turn. In 1496, after leaving Cracow University, he joined Bologna School of law in Itlay. From here he moved to the famous Padua University where he studied medicine during 1501-1505. Thereafter, he took his Doctor of Canon Law degree from Ferara Univesity and he arrived at his uncle’s place in Poland. Discussions and deliberations with his uncle who was a priest led to the conclusion that his doctorate would be useful in taking up religious work. It was believed then that medicine and astrology were closely related. Once again Nicolaus went to Padua University and joined the School of Medicine.

The famous astronomer and mathematician-scientist Ptolemy (90 AD to 168 AD) was born in Alexandria, Egypt. In the second century it was a big port city, besides being the cultural capital. To enhance their knowledge, intellectuals and thinkers from the country and abroad visited its well-stacked libraries and imposing museums in this city. Greek scholar Ptolemy, too visited this city many a time for his study. In 150 AD, Ptolemy had made some important observations regarding the motion of celestial bodies. Though he did not entirely understand many peculiarities of these heavenly bodies, he believed in what he saw and accepted the prevailing belief that the earth is stationery and the entire universe revolves around it. Therefore, he believed in the seeming truth that the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West.

Four centuries before Ptolemy, another Greek philosopher and astrologer had come to conclusion that the Sun was centre of the universe, but puritans did not heed to his conclusions and he was criticized. Ptolemy was influenced by popular belief. Accepting the geocentric (having the earth as centre) theory of the universe, Ptolemy based his calculations on it in his volume ‘The Great Treatise of Astronomy’, better known as ‘Almegaste’. Hence certain flaws appear in his calculations.

In Greek, ‘Planet means’ something that wanders on its own’. It had become an acceptable fact with philosophers, religious teachers and scientists, propagating the belief that the earth was stationary and the sun and other planets revolved around the earth. Ptolemy, the great scholar tried to explain the planetary motions and their positions, of which only some were true. Regarding the wrong calculations he had made, he justified them by calling them wandering celestial bodies. Poland’s famous scientist Copernicus was able to understand the complex planetary motions of these celestial bodies, but for this he had assumed that the Sun was at the centre of the universe.

It was by now clear that Sun and other planets revolved in orbits. During one such revolution, a celestial body in radial motion moves 360 degree. This circle is divided into 12 parts each of 30 degree. These are known as the Zodiac signs. Today we know that the Sun moves from one Zodiac sign to another, every month. Thus, in one year, the earth completes one revolution around the Sun. It was also believed then that there was an unknown link between the planets, Zodiac signs and the various organs of the body. On this basis and taking into account the birth time, astrologers draw the life chart of a person. Today too, people pay a lot of money to astrologers to know their future. In ancient India, Aryabhatt, Varahmihir, Brahmgupt, Bhaskaracharya and other astronomers were popular as astrologers.

During his learning years, Copernicus got a job as a junior priest in a church. Thus he received knowledge of science, religion and philosophy. Besides, he had studied law, which gave him a deep insight into the laws governing the church. Add to this his knowledge of Greek and Latin, and he was a well-versed scholar at the age of 33. He returned to Poland to serve his ailing uncle. Here his leisure hours were spent in independent study. This gave him a new insight into the universe and a scientific approach also. Initially, he accepted the ancient Greek and Arab calculations as they were. He had no appropriate instruments, but his was a thinking mind that worked wonders. On the basis of mathematics and philosophy he visualized the universe as a divine arrangement and made some observations. But all these remained in his notebooks.

This is precisely what took him to the peak of his popularity. In 1539, a 25-year-old German student named Georg Rheticus came to him. This bright young man impressed Copernicus. At 28, he joined Wittenberg University as professor. For two years Rheticus made a deep study of Copernicus’ notes and calculations. He came to the conclusion that Copernicus’ observations were very noteworthy and needed to be published. Taking into account the motions of planets Copernicus had classified them. He had clearly stated that the Sun is at the centre of the universe and all planets including the earth revolve around it. He had developed a theory based on it. Taking all these theories into account along with his theories, he wrote a treatise. But fearing a religious backlash due to Ptolemy’s widespread influence at that time, he did not get it published.

In 1543, with Copernicus falling ill, Georg Rheticus and his other friends took his permission to get his treatise printed and took it to Germany. The book was named De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (The revolution of the heavenly spheres). The credit for getting Copernicus’ notes printed in book form goes to Rheticus to an extent. When the printed book reached Copernicus, he was on his deathbed. He was in no condition to pass judgement or appreciate it. His heart had gone weak and his brain almost dead. He died on 24 May 1543.

Many rank this book along with Newton’s Principia. It sowed the seeds for discarding Ptolemy’s famous theory. Old and superstitions beliefs were given a burial and the path to the development of modern astronomy was thus laid. Fourteen centuries after Ptolemy had propounded his geocentric theory, Copernicus had presented his helio-centric theory. The stamp of religion was paramount at that time and no one dared oppose it. With Copernicus theory it was the dawn of a new era.

Salim Ali (1896-1987)

2010-10-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

Salim Moizuddin Abdul Ali was an Indian ornithologist and naturalist and also Known as the "birdman of India". He was born on November 12, 1896, in a big Muslim family of Khetwadi in Mumbai. He had five brothers and four sisters. His mother’s name was Jijat-un-nissa. His father Moizuddin died when he was just one year old & mother died when he was three year old. His uncle Amiruddin Taiyabji aroused in him a curiosity towards bird. After the death of his parents, uncle Amiruddin and Aunt Begum Hamida raised all the children.

It was a time when interest in birds was minimal. Birds were sold freely in Mumbai’s markets. For one rupee you could get eight to twelve birds many a time. Ali would bring such a variety of birds, keep them in cane baskets, teach them a little and then release them. He would never confine any bird for long or keep a pet forever. He would catch a bird, study it and after noting down its traits, release it.

At the age of eight he was admitted to a local school. In a short time he got admission to the St Xavier’s School. At the age of 14 years, owing to poor health he had to go and live with his brother and sister-in-law in Hyderabad (Sindh, Pakistan). There too along with the office peon he would look out for bird nests and study the birds and their eggs. In 1913, at the age of 17 years, he passed the matriculation examination of Mumbai University. By this time he had read books on hunting. Wild animals and jungles and gathered some interesting information. Such readings and introspection led Ali to a linking for wildlife. He would catch birds and make a comparative study. Then life suddenly took a turn. A letter from a relative in Myanmar (Burma) arrived. It mentioned that if Ali was not interested in studies he could come and join the newly set up mining industry in Myanmar. Salim was finding mathematics a difficult subject, so he at once agreed to leave for Myanmar. Through he was never interested in business; he was very keen to know the wildlife in the jungles there.

Here, he met a forest officer J.C. Hoywood. Ali learnt a lot about Myanmar’s birds form Hoywood. He gathered a lot of knowledge about birds and the scientific study of birds (Ornithology). Not inclined towards business, he had to return to Mumbai. Here he came in contact with father Blater, head of the biology department of St Xavier’s College. With his encouragement, Ali completed his graduation with animal science as his subject. In his 22nd year, in December 1918, Ali married Tehmina, who was well-versed in English and Urdu and had a visa for England. Tehmina encouraged her husband in his study of birds.

Salim Ali had no post-graduate degree in bird science or biology, but in five to seven years after marriage he had gathered a lot of information and gained insight into bird science, biology and animal science. In the meantime, he got a job in a friend’s export unit. Some time later, Father Blater came to his rescue. He got him a job as guide lecturer at Mumbai’s natural History Society Museum. After joining here he realized that if he wanted to become an authority on birds he had to make their systematic study. No such course on bird science was offered in any institute anywhere in the country. So, he decided to go to Berlin for such a study. There he started the study of birds with Bernhard, a young bird scientist. In Berlin, Ali studied with dedication and single-mindedness. In 1930, he returned from Berlin and started work in Nizam’s Hyderabad. He also received some grant for this. He studied bird science and also made a survey of birds. His study of bird habits earned him praise. Here he got a good opportunity to study the birds of Nilgiri.

Between 1934 and 1939, Ali studied bird science in Dehradun. Now, he came to be recognized among the world’s well-known bird scientists (ornithologists). In 1945, he made a scientific study of the birds of Kailas and Mansarovar. He has mentioned the details in his autobiography – The Fall of a Sparrow. In the deserts of Kachchh, he undertook a study, which he brought out in a volume titled Birds of Kachchh. For the study of birds he also undertook a motorcycle tour of Europe. His diary reveals many such instances. Now, he was an internationally known ornithologist. His work came to be appreciated in the country and abroad. He received honour and awards. In 1953, he was awarded the Asiatic Society Medal and in 1984, the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh as an appreciation of his work awarded him the Gold medal. In 1958, the Aligarh muslim University; in 173, the Delhi University and in 1978, the Andhara University honoured him with Doctor of Science degrees.

The Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan in 1958 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1976. Besides, in 1982, the Government of India honoured him by giving him the national research professorship in bird science. He was lauded for his efforts to protect wildlife and was awarded the National Award (gold medal) in 1983. The same year America’s National wildlife federation honoured him with the International Award. On June 20, 1987, this great ornithologist left this word.

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Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

2010-09-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Charles Darwin was an English naturalist renowned for his documentation of evolution and for his theory of its operation, known as Darwinism. He was born at Shrewsbury, England on February on 12, 1809. He was the son of Robert Waring Darwin, who was a popular doctor, and the grandson of the physician Erasmus Darwin, the author of Zoonomia, or the Laws of Organic Life, and of the artisan-entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood. His family was happy, contented and cultured. Charles lost his mother when he was just eight year old. Within the educated and cultured family, Charles was considered very mediocre at studies. The head school teacher would consider him a dull and unintelligent student. However, his father and grandfather had fond hopes for him. His father wished he become a doctor, however his wish was never fulfilled. Many believed that Charles had poor ability to understand or comprehend. Some even considered him to be dumb. In reality, Charles was a very imaginative child. Though not interested in the subjects taught at school, he was interested in the study of nature. He had a very sharp and observant eye.

Darwin was sent to Edinburough University along with his elder brother for higher education. He was again mediocre in his studies but he excelled at the student debates, particularly on evolution. During the debates he would argue and put across his point forcefully. His ability to analyse and his intelligence were distinguishable from others. Having failed at the university after spending two years, his father felt his dream of seeing him a doctor vanish fast. Sons of cultured families were in those days expected to study and he was sent to Cambridge. Here, he began studying religion to become a bishop, however he was not at all interested in it. He loved to observe small insects and living organisms. He would never get tired collecting them, observing them and writing about them. At 22, he received a degree in religion, but he never wanted to take up missionary activities. He came in contact with a reputed professor of botony John Henslow, at the University. Henslow gave a recommendation letter and told him to meet Captain Robert Fritzroy of HMS Beagle, a 235-ton ocean liner. In this manner Darwin was able to escape from the missionary activities.

HMS Beagle was gigantic government owned ship. It was commissioned to inspect, study and survey the South American Coast. Darwin got an offer as Naturalist on the ship. He was supposed to pay for the expenses on board. As he loved the work, his father very reluctantly agreed to pay for the voyage. In 1831, the ship set sail. It was to return within two years but actually returned after live years to England, in the year 1836.

Darwin was very fine observer and investigator. He would never tire while collecting specimen and writing down his observations in copious notes. He would collect trunk-loads of specimen. For five years he continued the survey of the American coastline. HMS Beagle finally reached the south western tip about 800 kms away, where the famous natural Galapagos Islands exist. These islands could be termed as nature’s biggest laboratory. Here, Darwin was able to discover vital links to the origin of several species. He found unique species of living organisms and also learned about the detailed changes they had undergone during the process of evolution. Darwin noted that each island had snakes, birds and a variety of other animals. There were dissimilarities among the same species also. One of the islanders pointing at the tortoise, claimed to even identify the particular island to which it belonged. All these bits of information came in handy later when he conducted indepth research.

Darwin read a book by Thomas Malthus ‘Essay on population’, which was published in 1838, that cleared his doubts. During the voyage, he had observed and collected several species of plants and living organisms. He had seen and collected fossils too. All this was very useful for his research later. He was certain that be it animals or mankind, all had to fight for food, survival and evolution into further species while adapting to the environment. 20 years after the historic voyage and extensive studies, he arrived at some conclusions. He concluded that changes taking place within our body get destroyed. This is how different species evolve and earlier ones become extinct.

In 1858, Malaya’s famous naturalist Alfred Wallace published an essay: ‘What are the principles of nature that control the changes in living organisms?’ This essay had many findings and thoughts common to those of Darwin. Friends advised Darwin to publish his findings too. It was then that he decided to write, Print and publish his thoughts, analysis and conclusions and present them to the world. In July 1858, a copy each of Wallace’s work and Darwin’s essay separately reached the Linian Society at London and were read by its members. The following year Darwin’s book ‘Origin of Species’ was published. Darwin had attempted to explain the principles of evolution. However, the book generated countroversy that went on for a long time. Many works criticizing Darwin’s theory were published. In one particular essay, a priest of Oxford criticized Darwin’s theory. Darwin was unwell by the time he returned to England. He suffered from nagging headache and fits. At 70, he wanted to go on a sea expedition, but lacked courage. He had married Emma Wedgewood, His cousin in 1839 and settled down in small village near kent. He never had to struggle for a livelihood. He spent the rest of his life experimenting in his laboratory classifying the specimen he had collected, in gardening and study. He was cheerful and very popular due to his nature.

This great and famous nature lover, father of the Evolution theory, died on April 16, 1882 at 72. His grave is located next to the famous physicist and mathematician Issac Newton in the Westminster Abbey. England and the world honoured him this way. It can be said that if he were to visit the Galapagos Islands today, he would feel sad because he would find many unique species extinct, which he had seen in the 1830’s trip. Giant tortoises and certain species of monkeys are hard to find. Large aerodromes have been constructed on these islands. Aircraft noise pollution has suppressed the sweet chatter of birds forever. Human interference and the so-called modern cultures have contributed in permanently destroying nature.

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Sir Edward Jenner (1749 – 1823)

2010-09-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

Dr. Edward Jenner was the inventor of the smallpox vaccine. He was born on May 17, 1749 in Gloucestershire, England. His father was a vicar. Edward was admitted to the local primary school, where he turned out to be a good student especially interest in biology. Gradually, He began studying to become a doctor. At that time it was customary for a medical student to assist an experienced doctor and seek his guidance. He sought training under the experienced surgeon Dr Daniel Ludlow. At 21, Jenner Joined the St. George Hospital in London to undergo training under the great surgeon and anatomist Dr. John Hunter.

It was a time when the field of medicine was in its nascent stage. Doctors experimented with herbs and used them to cure a disease. When an epidemic struck any region, millions of people lost their lives. In Europe alone, 60 million people succumbed to various diseases between the periods of 1700-1800. People considered such contagious disease as the Lord’s wrath curse. In 1721, smallpox had infected almost half the population of Boston in USA, 10 per cent of whom lost their lives. Today, this disease has been eradicated from the face of the earth. The Vaccine has played an important role in controlling and curbing this disease. All credit goes to Jenner for discovering the smallpox vaccine.

Dr. John Hunter of the St George Hospital was an inquisitive and restless soul. He would conduct various experiments, which he would try on himself first. Unfortunately, he became a victim of an incurable disease, which cut short his life. His students underwent the same kind of rigour. Hunter became Jenner’s lifelong friend and guide. After graduating from St George Hospital, on the advice of Hunter, Jenner returned to Gloucestershire to practice medicine. Hunter and Jenner continued their correspondence for long. Hunter believed that the rural-bred Jenner would be more comfortable working in a rural area than an urban set-up. Modern medicines were still a far cry in those times. Doctors prescribed herbs and people preferred homemade remedies to combat diseases. They knew that some plants and vegetables had miraculous healing powers. Degetelis was considered to be a vital medicine for heart-related diseases. Like India, local remedies were sought there.

Some diseases attack a person once in a lifetime, for example, German measles. Parents would feel relieved if this disease attacked their daughters at a young age, since it would create complications at a later age. Once this disease attacked at a young age, it would not attack again. Besides, it was easier to cure this disease when the patient is young.

Similar belief prevailed in the case of smallpox. In the East, to escape the curse of smallpox it was a practice to inject the germs of smallpox in the body to weaken its deadly effect. Unfortunately, some lost their lives in the process.

The village fold of Gloucestershire found that a patient of cowpox did not catch smallpox. This disease first invariably comes to our mind: Why only cows and not horses or any other animal? Encouraged by Hunter, Jenner concentrate his research on cowpox. He examined 27 patients suffering from this disease. He published his findings in 1796. He conducted a unique and bold experiment. After convincing the parents, Jenner injected an eight – year- old boy Jimmy Flipps with lymph from a cowpox vesicle. It made the healthy boy sick. He followed this with injections taken from smallpox pustules. The boy did not develop smallpox. When Jenner announced his findings, there was upheaval in society. There were some who criticized Jenner for interfering with the natural process of life and some who congratulated him for his achievements. Some even said it was no big achievement and still others tried to limitate him and conducted experiments without proper knowledge, killing patients rather than curing them in the process.

When the dust settled, Jenner detailed his discovery-presenting the world with the smallpox vaccine. The world hounoured him and the parliament conferred knighthood on him. He was now Sir Edward Jenner- Besides, he was awarded $ 20,000. Oxford University bestowed on him an honorary degree. The Czar of Russia gifted him a gold ring and Napoleon congratulated him for his path-breaking discovery. A group of Indians based in America honoured him with gifts and publicly lauded his achievement. The world will remain indebted to Jenner for his vaccine that has contributed to a healthy generation. We should always ensure that every healthy child is inoculated for all- smallpox, Chickenpox, polio and diphtheria.

Jenner spent his later life at his country house in Gloucestershire. He died in January. 1823. His vaccine has ensured a smallpox- free society. Various vaccines developed for different diseases have helped children to be resistant to diseases. Dr. Jonas Salk is one such precursor to develop the polio vaccine and contribute towards a polio-free world.

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Prof. Tribhuvandas Gajjar (1863- 1920)

2010-09-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

Tribhuvandas Kalyandas Gajjar was India’s great scientist and Gujrat’s first and foremost chemist. He was born in August, 1863 in a well-to-do and prosperous Gajjar family of Surat. His uncle, Atmaram Gajjar was well-known personality. Atmarambhai’s ancestor, who belonged to carpenter family, had earlier settled in Dhanasuthar’s pole in Ahmedabad. A square named Gajjar square still exists there.

Tribhuvandas's father kalyandas was a well-known sculptor. He had also written a book called ‘The Art of Sculpture’. Tribhuvandas was the youngest of four sons and two daughters of Kalyandas. Tribhuvan was an intelligent child. He cleared every class with high grades. His father was pleased with his brightness. At home, he taught Tribhuvan the art of sculpting. Thus, Tribhuvan learnt intricate wood carving and obtained knowledge of the traditional art of sculpting from his father. When he was 16, he cleared the matriculation examination with good marks. While at school his interest turned towards science. For higher education, he joined the science stream of Mumbai’s (Bombay’s) Elphinstone College. He got 75 % marks in B Sc with Chemistry as his principle subject. For this achievement, he was appointed junior fellow during his postgraduate studies and later, senior fellow, in the college. As a junior fellow, he taught chemistry and physics to fresh admitted students. After that he completed his MA from Mumbai University.

India’s economic condition had worsened during the British rule. With the intent of helping society during these trying times, he came to Surat and started the cottage industry school. His aim was to guide the youth in various skilled work based on science, ultimately to make them self-reliant. But later on, due to lack of government aid and funds, he had to wind up this school. Meanwhile, he was invited by the Mumbai Government to join Sindh College in Karachi as professor of chemistry with salary of Rs. 300 per month. He was also invited by vadodara (Baroda) college for the same post with salary of Rs. 200 per month. Since the Maharaja of Vadodara, Sir Sayajirao Gaikwad encouraged cottage industry. Tribhuandas decided to join Vadodara College even though the salary would have been less than what he would have got at Sindh College.

After joining Vadodara College, he won the hearts of all with his knowledge, enthusiasm and dedication. There, he skillfully carried on his work. Some time later, an order was issued to send him abroad along with a few bright students for further studies. He was to be sent abroad for further study in farming and after his return, he would be made deputy collector in the revenue department. He convinced his superiors not to send him abroad and showed his readiness to take up printing and dyeing work in the state. For this purpose, he carried out a survey and set up a laboratory. He started giving scientific training to the youth of the families engaged in dyeing and printing. There was a good demand for these trained artisans. In this venture, he received support of the Maharaja and the people as well. He met the Maharaja and apprised him of the importance of setting up a training school like kala Bhavan for cottage industry.

In June 1890, Kala Bhavan was established in Vadodara and its entire responsibility rested on Gajjar’s shoulders. A special fund for this purpose was also handed over to him. In a short time span, 800 students had joined the school. Due to hard work, he introduced courses in carpentry, drawing, architecture, building construction, weaving, dyeing, chemistry, physics, etc., and started imparting knowledge. He provided free accommodation to economically weak students. It was his earnest desire that our country should match other countries in cottage industry and also in the field of science. After overcoming teething problems, he started thinking ahead. He found it essential that necessary study material be written and published in the vernacular language. He also obtained the Maharaja’s permission in this regard. Maharaja Sayajirao granted him permission to spend up to Rs. 50, 000 on that venture. For this purpose, he also developed a dictionary. Professor Gajjar also knew the German language. He translated German books and periodicals on the cottage industries in Gujarati and published them in his magazine Rangrahasya (Colour sectets). This helped in teaching new techniques to the students. Gradually, the demand for students who passed out from kala Bhavan increased. In five years, the kala Bhavan became the soul of Gajjar. But, due to false propaganda by some envious elements he had to resign from the institute in 1896. He then went to Mumbai.

After coming to Mumbai, he joined Wilson College as professor of chemistry. There, he contributed towards improvements in the field of education and modernized the curriculum. Meanwhile, Mumbai was in the grip of plague and no medicine proved to be effective. Gajjar developed a medicine proved to be very effective. He was opposed to the idea of grabbing the opportunity to patent the medicine and make some fast money. He placed the medicine before the world. His only intention was to serve the poor people. In 1898, at his own expense, he set up a private laboratory named Technochemical Laboratory. Gradually, he expanded the institute with more facilities. Later, Mumbai University and Grant Medical College granted recognition to this laboratory for their students.

Meanwhile, in 1898, an incident took place that made Gajjar famous the world over. It so happened that in mumbai’s walled city area on Esplanade Road. Someone had blackened the face of the marble statue of Queen Victoria. The colour was permanent and it was difficult to remove it. The British government was in a hurry to clean up the statue, but they were unsuccessful. Experts from the world over were called in, but failed to clean it up. At this stage, Gajjar showed his willingness to remove the stains. The government summoned Gajjar and asked him to clean up a part of the statue. He successfully did it and went on to remove all the stains. Newspapers all over the world hailed professor Gajjar’s efforts. He became world-famous and gained recognition internationally as a chemist. After this, Gajjar made such an amazing discovery that he received both wealth and recognition. He developed a new process to clean up pearls that had turned yellow. When the great Indian chemist Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray heard the news of Gajjar’s astonishing achievement he congratulated him.

Professor Gajjar earned lakhs of rupees from this venture. He then set up the ‘Alembic Chemistry Works’ in vadodara with help from his student Srikoti Bhaskar. Bhaskar was then sent to Germany to gain specialized knowledge. Meanwhile, he read litterateur Govardhanram Tripathi’s novel Saraswatichandra, and was impressed by the plan of kalyan village. He met this great Gujarati novelist in person and they became good friends. He started one such scheme near Andheri. There, he began developing the cottage industry and encouraged traditional art for the welfare of the people. Gajjar then, had plenty of money. Due to wealth, many disputes took place within the family that reached the court. Though he won the case, he lost a lot of money and peace of mind. Meanwhile, his wife passed away. He started feeling lonely. After the death of his wife, he never felt happy and cheerful. Then came the unexpected news of the death of his student. Srikoti Bhaskar. He spent his health and wealth to keep alembic chemical works stable and sustained. Life became difficult and worries affected his health. He was a depressed and dejected man. Gradually, he became a victim of sleeplessness. He had become very lonely. This great scientist was really moved when he once had the opportunity to meet Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi advised him to spend his remaining life peacefully and happily.

Gajjar was his own doctor, but could not sustain his lifeline. On july 16, 1920, this great soul departed for his heavenly abode. Thus, this great chemist from Gujrat, after spending his hard earned money for the selfare of the people and gifting the laboratory he set up to the National Medical College, took leave from this world. We pay our heartfelt tribute to this great scientist and worthy son of Gujarat.

J Robert Oppenheimer (1904 – 1967)

2010-09-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

J Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. He was born in New York on April 22, 1904. His parents, Julius S. Oppenheimer, a wealthy German textile merchant, and Ella Friedman, an artist, were of Jewish descent but did not observe the religious traditions. He was fond of collecting rock samples since his childhood. He also liked to study microorganisms with a homemade microscope. Painting and music were his forte. His parents were well-to-do German-Jewish immigrants who had made fortune by importing textiles in New York City. They paid proper attention to their son’s needs and admitted him to the best school.

When he was 12, chemistry attracted his attention. His father encouraged him by setting up a small laboratory at home and by engaging a good tutor for him. After clearing his school grade with a first class first, he traveled to Europe with his father. Here, he was exposed to various religions and cultures. During this period he also gained command over Greek, Spanish, French, Italian and Latin languages. Returning from Europe, 19 year old Oppenheimer entered Harvard University and completed his course in three years instead of the usual four and graduated with a first class. At 22, he joined the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University. Here, he got an opportunity to work with Rutherford, who had contributed immensely towards the study of radioactivity and nuclear physics. He was working on the immense energy produced by the fission of the nucleus of an atom. Oppenheimer also came in contact with the great physicist Max Born and Paul Dirac. On Born’s advice and invitation, Oppenheimer decided to go to Gottingen University, Germany to work under the great mathematician. Both worked together to master mathematics and produced important research papers on quantum theories. Oppenheimer completed his doctorate there. He then moved to Zurich and worked there for some time. In Europe, Oppenheimer studied under Werner Heisenberg also. In 1928, he returned to America, a successful 24-year old young man.

In America, he worked as professor at California University at Berkeley and the California Institute of Technology. He got married and settled there. He concentrated totally on academics. Besides, he worked on atomic fission. He taught advance physics and mathematics to the students. His reputation attracted students and scientists from various countries. In association with a colleague Mellah Phillips, he put forward the Oppenheimer-Philips Theory. The theory was the base for the discovery of heavy hydrogen nucleus.

World War II began in 1939. Einstein and other scientists had understood the aim of Nazi Germany. They had apprised President Roosevelt about the possibility of German and Italian scientists working towards making of an atom bomb. Such a bomb could destroy the world and establish Nazi rule over the world. They felt that it was necessary for America to make such a bomb and end the World War II. The Manhattan Project, a secret mission to build an atom bomb, was launched in 1942. Oppenheimer was appointed to head the entire project, as he was the head of the Manhattan Committee. Los Alamos in New Mexico was choosen as the place for producing the atom bomb. The top-secret project began with the best scientific minds getting to act together. The group of scientists included Enrico Fermi, Neils Bohr, Hans Bethe, Arthur Compton, Von Neumann and many others. President Roosevelt had earmarked $ 2 billion for the project. The work on chain reaction was carried out at Chicago University. About 75000 miners were busy extracting uranium at Oakridge, Tennessee. Oppenheimer was to look into every aspect of this confidential project.

July 16, 1945 was set for the test day of the atom bomb. A 32 ton 100 feet steel tower was erected on Gyro Hill and the bomb placed on it. At 5.30 pm from a control room 14.5 km away in the desert, a remote control button was pressed. The project head Oppenheimer and all the scientists were present at the site. As the button was pressed, a gigantic fireball rose up to 7 miles in the sky and an ear-splitting blast was heard. It was heard 450 miles away in Amarillo. Texas. The 100 feet steel tower melted away and the sand in that area was converted into green glass. All life in a radius of 1.5 km had been totally destroyed. These things happened due to the immense energy produced by the atom bomb. The scientists were satisfied with the result. Their aim was to put an end to World was II. Keeping the larger picture of the people in mind, the test was kept a secret, as it was not advisable to publish the news at that stage.

On August 6, 1945, American aircraft dropped atom bombs on Hiroshima and later on August 9, 1945 on Nagasaki in Japan. The destruction was unimaginable, but at same time, it forced Japan to surrender immediately, putting an end to World War II. When the war ended, Oppenheimer appealed to the government to use atomic energy only for the betterment of society. In 1947, Oppenheimer was appointed director of the Institute for advanced study at Princeton. New Jersey and became Albert Einstein’s successor. On Oppenheimer’s recommendation, President Kennedy announced the $ 50000 ‘Atomic Energy Commission Award’ in 1963. The award was later renamed ‘Enrico Fermi Award’ to immortalize the great scientist. This award is given every year to a deserving scientist.

Oppenheimer died due to throat cancer on February 18, 1967. He never regretted his association with the Manhattan Project. He believed that whatever he did was to help his nation win over Hitler and the Nazis. Thereafter, he always insisted on the peaceful use of atomic energy to help make the world a better place. Today, the world remembers him as the father of the first atomic bomb, who completed this project successfully within a short span of three years.

Scientist J Robert Oppenheimer Photo

Scientist J Robert Oppenheimer

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The first nuclear test which Oppenheimer designated Trinity

Dr. D.N. Wadia (1883 – 1969)

2010-09-07T12:52:00.000-07:00

Dr. Darashaw Nosherwan Wadia was known as the “father of Indian Geology”. He was born on October 25, 1883, in Surat, Gujrat. He was the son of Nosherwan and Cooverbai Wadia. His family was traditionally involved in shipbuilding. Wadia completed his primary schooling in Surat. As a child, drawing interested him. His family settled in Vadodara (Baroda) when he was 12 years old. He continued his schooling there and went on to complete his graduate and post-graduate studies from vadodara College. At graduate level his subjects included biology and geology.

It was a time when geology and geological survey had not yet developed in India. In India, geological survey was established in 1851. A post-graduation degree in geology was only offered at Kolkata and Chennai Universities. Through reading, Wadia had developed an interest in geology and through self-study and introspection, he moved forward in this direction. In 1906, when he was just 23, he joined Jammu’s Mahatma Gandhi College (Prince of Wales College) as professor of geology. During Vacations, in the snow-clad Himalayas, he carried out underground research on minerals, stones and fossils. Gradually, his interest, study and research in the subject increased. He wrote a book titled Geological Science for the benefit of students. When the book was published, his fame in this field spread all over the country. In 1921, he resigned as professor of this college and joined the geological survey department of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) at the age of 38 years. At the institute too, the Himalayan region remained the centre of his research.

In 1938, at the age of 55, Wadia resigned from the GSI department and went to Sri Lanka. It was a time when the British ruled on India and Sri Lanka. The British government had appointed Dr. Wadia as the head of the Sri Lankan geological survey department. There he completed the task assigned to him and after appropriately training his colleagues, he returned to India. On his return, he joined the central government as director of land survey department and later served as director of Bureau of Mines- Minerals and Ores. After India’s independence, Wadia set about the task of promoting science. In the Atomic Energy Commission set up under the leadership of Dr. Homi Bhabha, he was made director of the department handling minerals. He was instrumental in holding the 22nd conference of the International Geological Congress in New Delhi, the first ever in India. Wadia presided over the function.

Dr. Wadia toured abroad and carried out important research work on the Central Asian desert regions. He also provided detailed information about its mineral wealth. His views about the birth of the desert regions received tremendous response from all over the world. According to him, one million years ago the Ice Age existed. At present, icy cold rivers at the North Pole and the snow-covered areas were the result of that age. In his book, ‘Geology of Nanga Parbat and Gilgit District’, he has provided detailed information about the geological survey work he carried out in this area. Besides, in his book ‘Structure of Himalayas’, he has discussed elaboratory the geological formation and internal edifice of the Himalayas. In his detailed research on the Himalayas, he studied the rocks on the 27000 feet (about 8000 metres) high Nanga Parbhat and the pebbles obtained from its snow-melted rivers and got ample know-how of the region. Thus, he was a tough and adventurous man. The geological survey he carried out in the Himalayas shows his strong determination and perseverance. Half a century later his life of learning was one that would put any youth to shame.

The entire stretch from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Assam to Karachi and Baluchistan, including lakes and oceans was his area of study. This entire stretch of area was like an open book to him. Beyond textbooks he had gained knowledge through discovery and analysis. He was a storehouse of Knowledge. He also delivered his knowledge at various seminars. Experts have accepted Wadia’s view on the geological structure of areas like Poonch and Punjab, the rise and fall of the Himalayas from Assam to Kashmir and its range of peaks is indeed a revelation. According to him, the Hindu Kush, with its unique mountain range, has no relation to the Himalayas.

Among his many writings, the Geology of India and Burma is a reference volume that gives wonderful information. In Geological Survey Institute libraries around the world this volume occupies a revered place. This volume is taken into account to understand the geological set-up of India. Wadia was also a successful scientific authority on fossils. His important fossils discoveries include animals without bones, huge animals like elephants, besides skull pieces of stygordon Ganesa. Today the uranium enriched area in Bihar is very useful to the Atomic Energy Commission, thanks to the direction given by Wadia.

In 1957, he was elected the Fellow of the Royal Society of London. He was the first Indian geological scientist to receive this honour. He was twice elected president of the Indian Science Congress. The prestigious meghnad Saha Medal was awarded to him by National Science Academy. Kolkata’s Asiatic Society honoured him with the Bose Medal. The Indian government conferred on him the Padma Bhushan.

On june 15, 1969, this great Indian scientist died at the age of 85. On 23 October, 1984, the post and Telegraph Department of India issued a stamp in honour of Dr. D. N. Wadia. We salute this valiant son and pride of Gujrat.

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Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)

2010-08-03T00:12:00.000-07:00

Andreas Vesalius was an anatomist, physician, and also an author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy. He is considering as the “founder of modern human anatomy”. His important innovations were to perform postmortem dissections and to make use of illustrations in the teaching of anatomy. He is also known as Andreas Vesal and Andre Vesale.

Andreas Vesalius was born on December 31, 1514 in Brussels, then in the Holy Roman Empire to a family of physicians. He was the son of Andries van Wesele. His father enrolled him in the Brethren of the Common Life School in Brussels to learn Greek and Latin according to standards of the era. In 1528, He entered the University of Louvain taking arts, but in 1532, he decided to pursue a career in medicine at the University of Paris, where he moved in 1533. Here he studied the theories of Galen under the auspices of Jacques Dubois and Jean Ferne. It was during this time that he developed his interest in anatomy.

On graduation he was immediately offered the chair of Surgery and Anatomy at Padua. He also guest lectured at Bologna and Pisa. Previously these topics had been taught primarily from reading classic texts, mainly Galen, followed by an animal dissection by a barber-surgeon whose work was directed by the lecturer. In 1538 he published a letter on bloodletting. This popular treatment for almost any illness, but there was some debate about where to take the blood from. In 1541, Vesalius uncovered the fact that all that Galen’s research had been based upon animal anatomy rather than the human; since dissection had been banned in ancient Rome, Galen had dissected Barbary Apes instead, and argued that they would be anatomically similar to humans.

Vesalius, undeterred, went on to stir up more controversy, this time proving wrong not just Galen but also Mondino de liuzzi and even Aristotle; all three had made assumptions about the functions and structure of the heart had four chambers, the liver two lobes, and that the blood vessels originated in the heart, not the liver. After struggling for many days with the adverse winds in the Ionian Sea, He was wrecked on the island of Zakynthos. Here he soon died in such debt that, if a Benjamine factor had not paid for a funeral, his remains would have been thrown to the animals at the time of his death on October 15, 1564 he was scarcely fifty years of age.

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Amedeo Avogadro (1776 – 1856)

2010-08-02T01:57:00.000-07:00

Amedeo Carlo Avogadro was an Italian savant. He is renowned for his contribution to molecular theory, including what is known as Avogadro’s law. He was born in Turin, Itlay on 9 August, 1776. He was the son of Count Filippo Avogadro and Anna Maria Vercellone. His father was a distinguished lawyer and civil servant.

Avogadro went to school in Turin. Coming from a family of well established lawyers, Avogadro was guided toward a legal career, and became a bachelor of jurisprudence in 1792, at the young age of just 16 years. Four years later he gained his doctorate in ecclesiastical law and began to practice. In 1801 he was appointed secretary to the prefecture of the department of Eridano. In 1820, he became professor of physics at the University of Turin. He married Felicita Mazzé and they had six children.

As we all know today, Avogadro’s number is very large, the presently accepted value being 6.0221367 X 1023 . The size of such a number is extremely difficult to understand. Cannizarro, around 1860, used Avogadro’s ideas to obtain a set of atomic weights, based upon oxygen having an atomic weight of 16. In 1865, Loschmidt used a combination of liquid density, gaseous viscosity, and the kinetic theory of gases, to establish roughly the size of molecules, and hence the number of molecules in 1 cm3 of gas.

Avogadro died on the 9th July, 1856. He was described as religious, but not a bigot.

Alexander Fleming (1881 - 1955)

2010-07-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

Sir Alexander Fleming was a biologist and pharmacologist. His best achievements are the discovery of the enzyme lysozyme in 1923 and the antibiotic substance penicillin from the fungus Penicilliu notatum in 1928, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Howard Walter Florey and Ernst Boris Chain. In 1999, In Time Magazine name Fleming one of the 100 most important people of the 20th Century for his discovery of penicillin, and stated, “It was a discovery that would change the course of history.

He was born on 6th of August, 1881 at Lochfield near Darvel in Ayrshire, Scotland. He was the son of Hugh Fleming. His father died when Alexander was just seven year old. He attended louden Moor School, Darvel School, and Kilmarnock Academy & after that he went London to work as a shipping clerk. He spent four years in a shipping office and after that moved to St. Mary’ Medical school, London University. He qualified with distinction in 1906 and began research at St. Mary’s under the guidance of Sir Almroth wright; a pioneer in vaccine therapy. He obtained M.B.B.S. (London), with Gold Medal in 1908, and became a lecturer at St. Mary’s until 1914. He was elected Professor of the school in 1928 and Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology, University of London in 1948. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1943 and knighted in 1944.

Alexander Fleming died on 11th March 1955. He is buried in St Paul's Cathedral.

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Alexander Graham Bell (1847 - 1922 )

2010-07-04T23:10:00.000-07:00

Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone. He was born on March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland. His mother, who was deaf, was a musician and a painter. His father, who taught deaf people how to speak, invented ‘Visible Speech’. Alexander only attended school for five years; from the time he was 10 until he was 14, but he never stopped learning. He read the books in his grandfather’s library and studied tutorials.

While Alexander was searching for telephone, Thomas Watson became an associate of Bell. Watson made parts and built models of Bell’s inventions. One day, while they were working, Bell accidently heard the sound of a plucked reed coming over the telegraph wire. The next day he transmitted the famous words, “Mr. Watson, come here. I want you!” A few months later on feb. 14, 1876, he applied for a patent on his telephone.

He died on August 2, 1922 in Canada at the age of 75.

Bell speaking into prototype model of the telephone

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Archimedes (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC)

2010-07-01T00:59:00.000-07:00

Archimedes was a great mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer of his age. But generally, he is considered to be the greatest mathematician of antiquity and one of the greatest of all time. . His contributions in geometry revolutionised the subject and his methods anticipated the integral calculus 2,000 years before Newton and Leibniz. He was also a thoroughly practical man who invented a wide variety of machines including pulleys and the Archimidean screw pumping device.

He was born 287 BC in the seaport city of Syracuse, Sicily. He was the son of Phidias who was an astronomer. Though he had many great inventions, Archimedes considered his purely theoretical work to be his true calling. His accomplishments are numerous. Unhappy with the unwieldy Greek number system, he devised his own that could accommodate larger numbers more easily. He invented the entire field of hydrostatics with the discovery of the Archimendes’ Principle. However, his greatest invention was integral calculus. To determine the area of sections bounded by geometric figures such as parabolas and ellipses, Archimedes broke the sections into an infinite number of rectangles and added the areas together. This is known as integration. He also anticipated the invention of differential calculus as he devised ways to approximate the slope other discoveries in geometry, mechanics and other fields.

Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier while participating in a war.

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Upendranath Brahmachari

2010-06-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

Upendranath was a famous Indian scientist and a leading medical practitioner of his time. He was a remarkable personality. He worked from 1915 on a cure of Kala-azar, a dreaded killer in Bengal and Assam. The traditional treatment by antimony (stibium in Latin) was long, tedious and painful, and therefore impracticable. In 1920, Brahmachari discovered and organic compound of antimony, which he called Urea Stibamine. It had no painful effects and determined an effective substitute for the other antimony containing compounds in the treatment of Kala-azar (Visceral Leishmaniasis ), which is caused by a protozoon, leishmania donovani. It was used on an experimental basis in Assam in 1923 and on a mass scale from 1928. By 1933, about 3.25 lakh lives had been saved in Assam alone. The medicine has also been used successfully in Greece, France and China; but contary to popular belief, it was never patented.

His discovery on Kala-azar led to the saving of millions of lives in India, particularly in the erstwhile province of Assam, where several villages were completely depopulated by the devastating disease. The achievement of Dr. Brahmachari was a milestone in successful application of science in medical treatment in the years before arrival of antibiotics, when there were few specific drugs, except quinine for malaria, iron for anemia, digitalis for heart diseases and arsenic for syphilis. All other ailments were treated symptomatically by palliative methods. Urea Stibamine was thus a significant addition to the arsenal of specific medicines.

Upendranath Brahmachari was born on December 19, 1873 in Jamalpur, District Monghyr of Bihar. The title Brahmachari has a little history. A person who lives a life of celibacy is called Brahmachari. His father Nilmony Brahmachari was a physician in East Indian Railways. His mother’s name was Saurabh Sundari Devi.

Upendranath completed his early education from Eastern Railways Boys High School, Jamalpur. In 1893, he passed B.A. Degree from Hooghly Mohsin College with Honours in Mathematics and Chemistry. In those days, it was possible for a student to appear in two honours subjects. Brahamachari stood first in order of merit in Mathematics in his B.A. examination and awarded the Thwyates Medal. Though, Brahmachari had had keen interest in Mathematics and shown great proficiency in the subject, he decided to join the Calcutta Medical College and the Presidency College at Calcutta for studying Medicine and Chemistry respectively. He passed his Masters degree with first class in Chemistry for the Presidency College, Calcutta in 1984. Sir Alexander Pedler and Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy taught him chemistry. Brahmachari was greatly influenced by Acharya Ray. Brahmachari also pursued his medical career with equal diligence. He obtained his L.M.S. degree in 1899 and in the next year, he took the MB degree. In MB Examination of 1900 of the University of Calcutta, he stood first in Medicine and in Surgery for which he received Goodeve and Macleod awards. In 1902, he obtained the M.D. degree of the Calcutta University. In those days, it was a rare distinction. He also obtained PhD degree of the Calcutta University for his researches in physiology. His thesis was titled studies in Haemolysis, a work which even today is considered an important piece of work on Physiological and physiochemical properties of the Red Blood Cells. He married Nani Bala devi.

After a firm grounding in Mathematics, Chemistry, Physiology, and modern Medicine, Upendranath joined the Provincial Medical service in September 1899. For a brief period, he worked as the House Physician in the Ward of the First Physician Sir Gerald Bomford’s. Sir Bomford was highly impressed with young Brahmachari’s urge for carrying out research and his strong sense of duties. Bomford got Brahmachari appointed as Teacher of Physiology and Materia Medica and Physician in Dacca Medical School in November 1901. He spent about four years at Dacca.

In 1905, he was appointed as a teacher in Medicine and Physician at the Campbell Medical School, now renamed as Nil Ratan Sarkar Medical College and Hospital, Calcutta, where he carried out most of his work on Kala-Azar and made his monumental discovery of Urea Stibamine.

Upendra Nath Brahmachari was a leading medical practitioner of India of his time. His monumental discovery of Urea Stibamine, an organic antimonial compound, played a crucial role in the treatment of and campaign against Kala-Azar. His “Treatise on Kala-Azar” is a premier work on the subject. As a teacher and educationist, his work was of a high order. He was associated with almost all the known scientific and literary organizations at Kolkata. He had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He has large private collection of books, which included not only scientific works but also literary works.

In 1923, he joined as Additional Physician in the Medical College Hospital. He retired from the Government service as a Physician in 1927. After retirement from the Government service Brahmachari joined the Carmichael Medical College as Professor of Tropical Diseases. He also served the National Medical Institute as In-charge of its Tropical Disease Word. He was also the Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Honorary Professor of Biochemistry at the University College of Science, Calcutta.

Brahmachari died on February 06, 1946. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation renamed Loudon Street as Dr. U.N. Brahmachari Street.

Alfred B. Nobel (1833- 1896)

2010-06-24T00:52:00.000-07:00

Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born on October 21, 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden. He was the third son of Immanuel Nobel and Andriette Ahlsell Nobel. In his early years of study, Alfred took interest in chemistry. But later in Paris he met Ascanio Sobrero who had developed a highly explosive liquid called nitroglycerin. In 1859 Alfred and his brother Email created a factory in order to gain more information about nitroglycerin through experiments. Their various experiments led to many explosions throughout the years; one immense explosion killed his brother Email and several other people.

Nobel realized the he had to develop a way to safely transport nitroglycerin. He tried to mix the nitroglycerin with silica and he formed dough- like paste that could be molded into any shape, he called this compound dynamite. Soon after he developed a blasting cap which would safely detonate the dynamite. Dynamite revolutionized the construction industry by making rock blasting and drilling tunnels safer and more cost effective. This allowed for great progress in railroad construction through mountainous terrain.

Dynamite was used to make the ammunition for cannons and riffles far more powerful, therefore making it more dangerous and deadly. Dynamite was also used in the construction of new cities by blasting through the tiniest of hills and the largest of mountains. Railroad development boomed and new cities appeared out of dust. The development of the new safe explosive was now being used as a weapon during World War I. Nobel, even though he was peaceful and against war, continued developing more dynamite and other powerful explosives with the hope that he would eventually develop a weapon so destructive that warfare would become impossible without massive repercussions.

Before his death in December of 1896 he created the various Nobel prizes that are still awarded today. The Prizes included Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, and Peace. Nobel did not want to be known as a man who had developed the most destructive weapon that the world had ever seen but rather as a man who loved literature and poetry and the creation of these prizes was ultimately his life’s dream. After his achievement that made him famous he continued to develop more inventions and overall had 355 patents. Some of the most significant being synthetic rubber and leather and artificial silk.

He continued to open factories and laboratories, creating about 90 factories and lags in over 20 countries. At the age of 63, he died on 10 December 1896 at Sanremo, Itlay.

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Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

2010-06-21T23:14:00.000-07:00

Albert Einstein was great scientist. He is often regarded as the father of modern physics. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.

Albert Einstein was born on 14th March 1879 at Ulm in Germany. His father Hermann Einstein was a salesman and engineer. His mother was Pauline Einstein. In 1880, his family moved to Munich, where his father founded a company that manufactured electrical equipment based on direct current. Albert has started his primary schooling here and later on moved to Italy and he continued his education and in 1896 he entered the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich to be trained as a teacher in Physics and mathematics. In 1901 he got diploma and in 1905 he obtained his doctorate degree from the University of Zurich. Albert Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many European and American universities.

At the age of 76 Albert Einstein died on 18 April 1955 in Princeton Hospital, New Jersey, USA.

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Vikram A Sarabhai (1919-1971)

2010-05-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

Vikram Sarabhai was the main personality behind the launching of India’s first satellite, ‘Aryabhatta’. He is considered as the ‘father of the Indian Space Programme’. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was among the few scientists who devoted their entire life to the progress of science in our country.

Vikram Sarabhai was born on August 12, 1919 at Ahmedabad, Gujarat to Shri Ambalal Sarabhai and Smt. Sarladevi Sarabhai, in a family of Industrialists. His father Ambalal Sarabhai was an affluent industrialist and owned many mills in Gujarat. Vikram Sarabhai was one of the eight children of Ambalal and Sarla Devi. He had his early education in a private school. Here atmosphere injected into the young by the seeds of scientific curiosity, ingenuity and creativity. From this school he proceeded to Cambridge for his college education and took the tripods degree from St. John’s College in 1940. When World War II began, he returned home and joined as a research scholar under Sir C.V. Raman at the IISc IISc, Bangalore. In September, 1942 Vikram Sarabhai married Mrinalini Sarabhai who was a celebrated classical dancer of India. The wedding was held in Chennai without anyone from Vikram’s side of the family attending the wedding ceremony because of the ongoing Quit India movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. Vikram and Mrinalini had two children – Kartikeya and Mallika. Mallika Sarabhai is a renowned dancer.

He started his work on cosmic rays and built the necessary equipment with which he took measurements. He returned to Cambridge in 1945. In 1947 he was awarded the Ph. D. degree. The physical Research Laboratory (PRL) was established in November 1947 in a few rooms in M.G. Science Institute of the Ahmedabad Education Society, which was founded by his parents. Subsequently, it got support from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Atomic Energy.

His interest in solar Physics and cosmic rays led him to set up many observation stations around the country. Vikram Sarabhai established centers for scientific research in several places of India. He was instrumental in establishing the physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad. In this, he formed the ‘Group for the Improvement of Science Education’, in 1963. In the same year, he established the Nehru Foundation for Development, for the study of social and education problems.

In 1966, under its auspices, he established the Community Science Center, whose object was to spread scientific knowledge, to create interest in science and to promote experimentation among students, teachers and the general public. After the sudden death of Dr. Sarabhai in 1971, the then Prime Minister of India, Smt. Indira Gandhi, renamed the Centre as the Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre, to associate its name with that of its founder. To train efficient managers of factories, he started the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Ahmedabad. Of all the institutions, he established the most important were the ‘Indian Space Research Organization’ with Centers at Thumba, Ahmedabad, Shriharikota and Arvi. He established Rocket Launching Stations at Thumba and Shrihatikota. Along with his work on the science front, he took utmost interest and managed family business of Textiles and Pharmaceuticals.

He was also responsible for the Equatorial Rocket Building Station at Thumba. Sarabhai set up the Ahmedabad Textile Industries Research Association, a laboratory for research in physics and the Indian Institute of Management. Sarabhai was the second chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Sarabhai’s study of cosmic rays under the eminent scientist Dr. C.V.Raman revealed that cosmic rays are a stream of energy particles reaching the earth from the outer space, being influenced on their way by the sun, the atmosphere and magnetism. This study helps in observing terrestrial magnetism and the atmosphere, the nature of the sun and outer space. He was conferred ‘Padma Vibhushan’ in 1972. He was also awarded ‘Dr. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Medal in Physics’ in 1962.

The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was one of his greatest achievements. He successfully convinced the government of the importance of a space programme for a developing country like India after the Russian Sputnik launch.

Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, supported Dr. Sarabhai in setting up the first rocket launching station in India. This center was established at Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram on the coast of the Arabian Sea, Primarily because of its proximity to the equator. After a remarkable effort in setting up the infrastructure, personnel, communication links, and launch pads, the inaugural flight was launched on November 21, 1963 with a sodium vapour payload.

As a result of Dr. Sarabhai’s dialogue with NASA in 1966, the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) was launched during July 1975-July 1976 (When Dr. Sarabhai was no more). Dr. Sarabhai started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian Satellite. As a result, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhatta, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian Cosmodrome.

Dr. Sarabhai was very interested in science education and founded a Community Science Centre at Ahmedabad in 1966. Today, the Centre is called the Vikram. A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre. This great scientist could be credited with launching India into space age. Vikram Sarabhai died at the age of 52 on December 31, 1971 at Kovalam,
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

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Sir M. Visvesvaraya (1888-1970)

2010-03-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sir M. Visvesvaraya was an eminent engineer and statesman and played a key role in building of modern India. Architect of Krishnaraja Sagar Dam; devised steel doors to stop the wasteful flow of water in dams. Today perhaps many people know Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya as one of the ablest engineers of India and creator of the Vrindavan Garden but very few really know his role as one of the builders of modern India, his role in industrializing India, his views on education and planning and so on. He was a real Karmayogi.

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, popularly known as Sir M.V., was born on September 15, 1860 in a Muddenahalli village, in Chikballapur Taluk, Kolar District. His father Srinivasa Shastri was a Sanskrit scholar and Ayurvedic practitioner. His mother Venkachamma was a religious woman. His mother tongue is Telugu. His father died in Kurnool when Visvesvaraya was just 15 years old. Visvesvaraya completed his schooling education in Chikkaballapur and after that he joined Central College in Bangalore. He completed his B.A. Examination in 1881. He got some assistance from the Govt. of Mysore and that’s why he joined the Science College, in Pune to study Engineering. In 1883, he ranked first in the L.C.E. and the F.C.E. Examinations (equivalent to B.E. Examination).

When Sir M. Visvesvaraya was doing engineering, Govt. of Bombay offered him a job and appointed as Assistant Engineer at Nasik. As an engineer, he has done wonderful job. He planned a way of supplying water from the river Sindhu to a town called Sukkur (Now in Pakistan). He devised a new irrigation system called the Block System. He devised steel doors to stop the wasteful flow of water in dams. He was the architect of the Krishnaraja Sagara dam in Mysore. The list is endless.

In 1912, Maharaja of Mysore appointed Visvesvaraya as his Dewan. As Diwan of Mysore, he worked tirelessly for educational and industrial development of the state. When he was the Dewan, many new industries came up like ‘The Sandal Oil Factory’, ‘the Chrome Tanning Factory’, were some of them. Of the many factories he started, the most important is the Bhadravati Iron and Steel Works. Sir M. Visvesvaraya voluntarily retired as Dewan of Mysore in 1918. He worked actively even after his retirement. In 1955, He was honoured with Bharat Ratna for his invaluable contribution to the nation. When he reached the age of 100, the Government of India brought out a stamp in his honour. Sir Visvesvaraya passed away on April 14, 1962 at the age of 101. The British also knighted him for his Myriad contributions to the public. Every year, 15 September is celebrated as the Engineer’s Day in India in his memory.

The Samadhi of Sir M.V. at Muddenahalli

The Bharat Ratna medal

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Sir M. Visvesvaraya institute of technology

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Sisir Kumar Mitra (1890 – 1963)

2010-03-25T23:21:00.000-07:00

Sisir Kumar Mitra was an Indian physicist. He is the doyen of radio science in India. He is known for his seminal work on ionosphere. The ionosphere, which extends from about 60 km to several thousand kilometers high in the atmosphere, plays a major role in long distance radio communications. The air in the ionosphere is ionized.

Sisir Kumar Mitra was born at Konnagar, a suburb of Calcutta, on 24 October 1890. He was the third son of Joy Krishna Mitra & Sarat Kumari. His father was a school teacher and mother was a doctor in Lady Dufferin Hospital at Bhagalpur in Bihar. Sisir Mitra first went to school in Bhagalpur district and there showed a serious interest in scientific studies. A few years later his two elder brothers died and his father became paralysed, and he would have had to leave school, had it not been for the insistence of his mother, an outstanding woman, that he should continue his education while she supported the family on her earnings from the hospital. After leaving school he admitted to the T.N.J. College, Bhagalpur, and from there in 1908 to Presindency College, Calcutta, where in 1912 he headed the list of successful candidates for the M.Sc. degree in physics.

Prof. Mitra started his career as a lecturer in the T.N.J. College at Bhagalpur and later on transferred to the Christian College, Bankura. He was also responsible for the establishment of Radio Research Board. He was the first Chairman of the Radio Research Committee formed in 1942 and continued in this chair in 1948. His treatise, the Upper Atmosphere received great acclaim. He established the first ionospheric field station in 1955. His interest also included the night sky luminescence, for which he developed a theory of active nitrogen in 1945. Prof. Mitra received many honours including Fellowship of the Royal Society, Presidentship of the Indian National Science Academy, National Professorship, Padma Bhushan Award, 1962. He died after a short period of illness on August 13, 1963.

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Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920 )

2010-03-25T22:59:00.000-07:00

Srinivasa Ramanujan was one of the India’s greatest mathematical geniuses. He made substantial contributions to the analytical theory of numbers and worked on ‘elliptic functions’, ‘continued fractions’, and ‘infinite series’. Srinivasa Ramanujan was a great Mathematician, who became world famous at the age of twenty-six. He was born on December 22, 1887 in his grandmother’s house in Erode, a small village of Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. He was the son of K. Srinivasa Iyengar & Komalatammal. His father worked in Kumbakonam as a clerk in a cloth merchant’s shop and his mother was a housewife and also sang at local temple. When Ramanujan was a year old, his mother took him to the town of Kumbakonam, near Chennai.

When he was about five years old, Ramanujan admitted to the primary school in Kumbakonam although he would attend several different primary schools before entering the Town High School in Kumbakonam in January 1898. At the Town High School, Ramanujan was the scholar student and showed himself an able all round scholar. In 1990, he began to work on his own on mathematics summing geometric and arithmetic series. In December 1889, he contracted smallpox. Continuing his mathematical work Ramanujan studied continued fractions and divergent series in 1908. At this stage, he became seriously ill again and underwent an operation in April 1909 after which he took him some considerable time to recover. He married on July 14, 1909 when his mother arranged for him to marry a ten-year-old girl S. Janaki Ammal. Ramanujan did not live with his wife, however, until she was twelve year old.

Ramanujan could not complete his college education because of illness. He was so interested in mathematics that he learned on his own. He found out new formulas for solving mathematical problems and wrote articles about them. Professor Hardy a scientist in the Cambridge Univesity saw one his article and impressed by his knowledge, took Ramanujan to England. Ramanujan was considered as the master of theory of numbers. The most outstanding of his contributions was his formula for p(n), the number of ‘partitions’ of ‘n’. It was in 1914, while he was working in Trinity College, he developed the ‘Number Theory’ and for his valuable contribution, was elected the ‘fellow of Trinity College’ on October 18, 1917. He returned to India in 1919 and began Research.

Ramanujan continued to develop his mathematical ideas and began to pose problems and solve problems in the journal of the Indian Mathematical society. He developed relations between elliptic modular equations in 1910. After publication of a brilliant research paper on Bernoulli numbers in 1911 in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society he gained recognition for his work. Despite his lack of a University education, he was becoming a well-known personality in the Madras area as a mathematical genius. He was died on April 26, 1920.

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Ramanujan's home on Sarangapani Street, Kumbakonam.

Satyendra Nath Bose (1894-1974)

2010-03-24T23:13:00.000-07:00

Satyendra Nath Bose was a Bengali Indian physicist, specializing in mathematical physics. He was well-known for his work “Quantum mechanics” in the early 1920s, providing the foundation for Bose-Einstein statistics and the theory of the Bose-Einstein condensate. He was born on January 1, 1894 in Calcutta. He was the eldest son of Surendranath and Amodini Devi. His father was employed in the Engineering Department of the East India Railway. He knew many languages and also could play Esraj (a musical instrument similar to violin) very well.

Sateyendra nath Bose began his education at an elementary school and after that he attended Hindu High School in Calcutta. Later on he joined Presidency College in Calcutta in 1909 where he had a brilliant academic record. He was awarded a B.Sc. in 1913 and M.Sc. in 1915 proving him to be by far the best student of mathematics. In the same year he married with Ushabala Ghose. They had five children, three daughters and two sons.

He started his career in 1916 as lecturer in the physics department of Calcutta University. He served here from 1916 to 1921 and Later on he joined Dacca University again as lecturer. In 1926, he became a professor and was made head of the physics department, and continued teaching at Dacca University until 1945. At that time, he returned to Calcutta, and taught at Calcutta University until 1956, when he retired and was made professor emeritus.
In 1956, when he was retired from Calcutta University he was appointed as vice chancellor of Viswa-Bharati University, Shantiniketan. After two year he was honoured with the post of national professor. He was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in 1954 by Government of India. He left for heavenly abode on 4 February 1974.

Satyendra Nath Bose wallpaper

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Satyendra Nath Bose Photo

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Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-1995)

2010-03-24T22:56:00.000-07:00

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, a ‘Nobel Laureate’ in physics and one of the greatest astrophysicists of modern times was born on October 19, 1910 in Lahore, Punjab, British India (now in Pakistan). He was the son of Mr. C.S. Ayer and Sita Balkrishnan. His father was a civil servant, attaining a high position with the Indian railways. The Ayer had three sons and five daughters of whom Chandra was the oldest son. In 1916, the family moved to Madras where Chandra grew up. Chandrasekhar came from a highly educated South Indian family. He was the nephew of Indian Nobel Laureate Sir C.V.Raman.

Chandra was a brilliant student. At 15, he entered Presidency College, the most prestigious in Madras; in 1927, he started their physics honors course, graduating in 1930 at the top of his class. He read far beyond the curriculum, for instance about Fermi statistics, where he was most intrigued by Ralph H. Fowler’s work on the constitution of white dwarf stars. This subject inspired him to write his first scientific paper, “Compton Scattering and the New Statistics”, which was published in the “Proceedings of the Royal Society” in 1928. Upon graduation, based on this paper, Fowler at the University of Cambridge accepted him as a research student.

Being the nephew of the great C.V. Raman, a Nobel Prize winner in physics young Chandrasekhar’s interest in the subject came naturally to him. In 1930, at the age of 19, he completed his degree in physics from Presidency College, Madras (at Present Chennai) and went to England for post graduate studies at the Cambridge University. Chandrasekhar worked hard as a research student, and after he had taken his PhD, he was elected a fellow of Trinity College. Now feeling relaxed and more confident, he returned to the problem of white dwarfs. By a more complete calculation, he confirmed his earlier result: there is an upper limit to the mass of white dwarf. He was invited to give a talk on this subject at the Royal Astronomical Society in January 1935. But after his lecture, Eddington stood up and rejected Chandra’s results, not by scientific argument but by ridiculing the combination of special relativity theory with quantum statistics. Chandra was devastated.

Chandrasekhar was renowned for his work in the field of stellar evolution, and in the early 1930s, he was the first to theorise that a collapsing massive star would become an object so dense that not even light could escape it, now known as the Black hole. He demonstrated that there is an upper limit (known as ‘Chandrasekhar Limit’) to the mass of a White dwarf star. His theory challenged the common scientific notion of the 1930s that all stars, after burning up their fuel, became faint, planer-sized remmants known as white dwarfs. But today, the extremely dense neutron stars and black holes implied by Chandrasekhar’s early work are a central part of the field of astrophysics. Initially peers and professional journals in England rejected his theory. The distinguished astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington publicly ridiculed his suggestion that stars could collapse into such objects (black holes). Of course, Eddington was wrong. However, his resistance to Chandra’s mass limit was understandable: his life’s work had been to show that every star, whatever it’s mass, had a stable configuration. It was generally believed that white dwarfs were the end stage of stellar evolution, after their energy source was exhausted. Why should there be a limit to the mass of a star in its old age? Chandra appealed to physicists he knew- Rosenfeld, Bohr, and Pauli. Unanimously, they decided that there was no flaw in his argument. However, it took decades before the Chandrasekhar limit was accepted by the astrophysics community.

Disappointed, and reluctant to engage in public debate, Chandrasekhar moved to America, in 1937 joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, and remained there until his death. At Chicago, he immersed himself in a personalized style of research and teaching, tackling first one field of astrophysics and then another in great depth. He wrote more than half a dozen definitive books describing the results of his investigations. More than 100000 copies of his highly technical books have been sold. He also served as editor of the Astrophysical Journal, the field’s leading journal, for nearly 20 years; he presided over a thousand colloquia; and supervised PhD research for more than 50 students. Chandrasekhar was a creative, prolific genius whose ability to combine mathematical precision with physical insight changed humanity’s view of stellar physics.

The genius Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, known to the world as Chandra, died on August 21, 1995 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is best known for his discovery of the upper limit to the mass of a white dwarf star, for which he received the ‘Nobel Prize’ in physics in 1983.

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar wallpaper

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Professor Satish Dhawan (1920-2002)

2010-03-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

Satish Dhawan was a pioneer engineer and Indian rocket scientist. He was born on September 25, 1920, in Srinagar, India. His father was a high-ranking civil servant of undivided India and retired as the resettlement Commissioner of Government of India at the time of partition. He completed graduation from the University of Punjab in Lahore (Now in Pakistan). He also completed B.A. in Mathematics and physics, and M.A. in English Literature and a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering. In 1947, he obtained an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. Later, he moved to the California Institute of Technology, where he was awarded the Aeronautical Engineer’s Degree in 1949, and a Ph D in Aeronautical and Mathematics in 1951, which he pursued with eminent aerospace scientist Professor Hans W. Liepmann as adviser. Such an educational breadth, covering science, engineering and the humanities, and his distinguished family background, appears to have given him an ability to view the world from many different angles, and may have been responsible for his unique qualities as a leader.

After completion of education he joined the Indian Institute of Science in 1951 and became its Director in 1962. In 1972, He was appointed Chairman of the Space Commission and of the Indian Space Commission and of the Indian Space Research Organization, and Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Space. In the following decade, he directed the Indian space programme through a period of extraordinary growth and spectacular achievement. Major Programmes were carefully defined and systematically executed, including in particular the launch of Indian satellites on Indian rocket vehicles. Pioneering experiments were carried out in rural education, remote sensing and satellite communications that led to the development of operational systems like INSAT. These projects were all distinguished by their keen sensitivity to the true needs of a developing nation, a confident appreciation of the ability of its scientists and engineers, and the carefully planned involvement of Indian space programme came to be seen in the 1980s as a model of technology development and application carried out within the country.

Professor Satish Dhawan received many awards for his contribution to science and technology, but following awards are few of them.
1) Padma Vibhushan Award, (India’s second highest civilian honour), in 1981.
2) Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration, in 1999.
3) Distinguished Alumnus Award, Indian Institute of Science.
4) Distinguished Alumnus Award, California Institute of Technology, 1969.

Prof. Satish Dhawan passed away on January 3, 2002.

Scientist Satish Dhawan Wallpaper

Satish Dhawan Picture

Satish Dhawan Photo

Professor Satish Dhawan Images

Dr. Sam Pitroda

2010-02-27T08:16:00.000-08:00

Dr. Sam Pitroda is better known as “The father of India’s communication revolution”. Presently he is the Chairman of India’s National knowledge Commission, besides being the chairman and CEO of World- Tel Limited and the founder and CEO of C-SAM, Inc, he also worked as an advisor to the United Nations in 1992. He is an inventor, entrepreneur and policymaker. Sam Pitroda was born on 16 November, 1942 in Titlagarh, Orissa. His real name is Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda. His parents had migrated to Orissa from Gujarat. They were deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy. Sam Pitroda did his schooling at Anand Vallabh Vidyalaya in Gujarat, and completed his Master degree in physics and Electronic from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat. In the year1964, Sam Pitroda went to the US and did his Masters in Electrical Engineering in Chicago.

Sam Pitroda has many technology patents to his name. He was involved in research work on telecommunications and handheld computing. He introduced microprocessor in telephone switches leading to digital switching and invented the Electronic Diary in 1975. He designed his own computer-themed card game called Compucards in 1983. He returned to India in 1984 on the suggestion of the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi and founded the Center for Development of Telematics (C-DOT). In 1987, he became advisor to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and was responsible for revolutionizing India’s foreign and domestic telecommunications policies. He is widely known as the brain behind the introduction of the public Call Offices (PCO) across the length and breath of the country. He left the country once again after an argument with K.P. Unnikrishnan, the minister for telecommunication in the V.P. Singh government. He has served as an advisor to the UN. In 2004, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh recruited him to head the National Knowledge Commission.

When we think about yellow phone booths all across India, we must remember to Sam Pitroda. For this facility to public, totally credit goes to Sam Pitroda. It is interesting to know that Sam Pitroda first used a telephone only after moving to the US. The biggest virtue of Sam Pitroda is that he has a definite vision to use technology for the benefit and betterment of society. Along with being a pioneer in telecom, Sam Pitroda has been made strong case for food, clean water, and adequate shelter for the unprivileged section. Due to his hard work, Sam Pitroda has brought telephones to some of the worlds previously isolated regions. In the field of telecom, Sam’s emphasis was on accessibility rather than density. By providing public access to telephones, Mr. Sam Pitroda revolutionized the state of telecommunications in India. Sam Pitroda has also featured in several newspapers, magazines radio, and TV programs.

In July 2009, the Government of India invited Mr. Sam Pitroda to head an expert committee on ICT in Railways. In October 2009, Sam Pitroda was appointed as Advisor to Prime minister of India (Dr. Manmohan Singh) on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations with the rank of Cabinet Minister. He has been awarded the Padma Bhushan award in 2009 by the Government of India for his contribution to Science and Engineering.

Scientist Dr. Sam Pitroda photo

Dr. Sam Pitroda with PM Dr. Manmohan Singh

Dr. Sam Pitroda wallpaper

Dr. Sam Pitroda picture

Dr. Sam Pitroda Photo

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Scientist Raja Ramanna (1925-2004)

2010-02-18T10:50:00.000-08:00

Raja Ramanna was a talented personality – an eminent nuclear physicist, a highly accomplished technologist, an able administrator, an inspiring leader, a gifted musician, a scholar of Sanskrit literature and philosophy, and above all a completed human being. He is well known for his work in “Indian Nuclear Program”. He was born on January 28, 1925 in Tumkur, Karnataka. He was the son of B. Ramanna and Rukminiamma. His father was in the judicial service of the Mysore state and earned the reputation of being a kind-hearted judge.

Raja Ramanna started his studies at “Bishop Cotton Boy’s School, Bangalore. After that he completed graduation from Madras Christian College. He obtained Ph. D. in nuclear physics and L.R.S.M. from King’s College, London. He specialised in nunuclear physics, nuclear reactor physics and design, European music and philosophy. Dr. Raja Ramanna was the director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for over a decade. He was also the Union minister of state for defence in 1990 in the V.P. Singh government. In 1997, he became a Member of Parliament through the upper house, the Rajya Sabha. He was also the first director of National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.

On May 18, 1974, India tested its first nuclear device in the Pokhran desert in Rajasthan. The credit for this achievement goes to Raja Ramanna and his colleagues, as also to Bhabha, who laid the foundation for the country’s nuclear programme. This was, however, not Ramanna’s first success. He was also the man mainly responsible for designing and installing the country’s first series of nuclear reactors, Apsara, Cirus and Purnima. He died on September 23, 2004.

Scientist Raja Ramanna

Dr. Raja Ramanna wallpaper

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Dr. Raja Ramanna Photo

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Professor Raj Reddy

2010-02-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

Dabbala Rajagopal Reddy was born on June 13, 1937 in Katoor, Andhra Pradesh, India. His father Srdenivasulu Reddy was an agricultural landlord and his mother, Pitchamma, was a homemaker. He is a world-renowned researcher in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Human-Computer Interaction better known as "Professor Raj Reddy". Currently, he is serving as the Director of the West Coast campus of Carnegie Mellon University, USA. He received his Becholor degree in civil engineering from Guindy Engineering College of the University, Madras, (Now Anna University, Chennai), India, in 1958. After that Professor Reddy moved to Australia, and there he received his Master’s degree in technology from the University of New South Wales, Australia, in 1960. He also received a doctor’s degree in Computer science from Stanford University in 1966.

On the same year he started his academic career as an Assistant Professor in the same University. After that he joined a member of Carnegie Mellon University faculty in 1969. He was the Founding Director of the Robotics Institute at the University from 1979 to 1991. Now as the Director of the West coast campus. Dr. Reddy’s research interests include the study of human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence. His current research project includes speech recognition and universal digital libraries, an Information Appliance for rural environments for use by illiterate people, where all creative works of the human race are available to anyone anywhere.

On the personal information, Dr. Reddy’s hobbies are walking and basically reading. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife of 37 years and they have two daughters. His daughters live on the West Coast, in Silicon Valley, California. He visits his native country once a year, his seven brothers and lives near Bangalore. Today, this brilliant scientist is among the most respected names in the US in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by India in 2001 and the Legion of Honor by President Francois Mitterrand of France in 1984. He is also a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, IEEE and AAAI, Fellow. He received the 2005 IJCAI Donald E. Walker Distinguished Service Award For, “His outstanding service to the AI community as President of AAAI, Conference Chair of IJCAI-79, and his leadership and promotion of AI internationally,” He also received the IBM Research Ralph Gomory Visiting Scholar Award in 1991.

Recently, Dr. Reddy received the Honda prize for his, “Contributions to eco-technology, the concept that “Contributions to eco-technology, the concept that technology should not pursue efficiency and profits alone but should be geared toward harmony with the environment surrounding human activities.”

Scientist Professor Raj Reddy Photo

Professor Raj Reddy, India

Professor Raj Reddy With Scientist Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Professor Raj Reddy Photo

Professor Raj Reddy Picture

Professor Raj Reddy Wallpaper

Professor Raj Reddy Images

Professor Dabbala Rajagopal Reddy

Great Scientist Raj Reddy

Introduction to Blog

2010-01-30T23:24:00.001-08:00

This Blog is the collection of short biographies and photo of the scientists, from different centuries, and many of them are unknown to the present generation. The valuable contributions of the scientist are the backbone of the development and the modern world is the result of their brainwork. We just utilize what they discovered and gifted to us. This Blog has been prepared as an authoritative and stimulating reference source. Compact detail about scientists, who amazingly changed this world, provides essential information on different discoveries they made in the field of science.

In fact, reading about the life-sketch of a scientist and his achievements, has great infotainment value. Besides, the lives of great men and women provide us inspiration to do things differently, and more importance than any other motivational factors. In this respect the importance of this Blog, especially for children, can hardly be underestimated. Rather it could even be a part of the curriculum-as at times the biographies can prove so inspiring and do motivate a person in such a way, that they change the entire course of the life of that person.

Written in simple and lucid language, these biographical photos of great scientists have been put together for ready reference. The Blog can also prove to be an ideal I.Q. upgrader.

P.C. Mahalanobis (1893 - 1972 )

2010-01-20T11:30:00.000-08:00

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis was a great scientist and applied statistician. He is famous for the ‘Mahalanobis Distance’, a statistical measure. He did pioneering work on anthropometric variation in India. Professor Mahalanobis made valuable contributions to the development of statistical science in India. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute, and contributed to large-scale sample surveys.

Scientist P.C. Mahalanobis was born on June 29, 1893. He was the son of Prabodh Chandra & Nirodbasini. His father was an active member of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. He started education from Brahmo Boys School in Calcutta. Then he completed graduation in physics from the Presidency College, Kolkata in 1912. He also completed Tripos at king’s college, Cambridge. After that he came back to Calcutta, India, and here he was introduced to the Principal of Presidency College and was invited to take classes in physics.

In later life, he contributed prominently to newly independent India’s five year plans starting from the second. His variant of Wassily Leontief’s input-output model was employed in the second and later plans to work towards rapid industrialization of India and with his colleague at his institute; he played a key role in developing the required statistical infrastructure. He also had an abiding interest in cultural pursuits and served, as secretary to Robindranath Tagore, particularly during the latter is foreign travels, and also his alma mater Viswa Bharati University, for some time. He received one of the highest civilian awards Padma Vibhushan from the Government of India for his contribution to science and services to the country. He died on June 28, 1972, a day before his seventy- ninth birthday. Even at this age, he was still active doing research work and discharging his duties as Institute and as the Honorary Statistical Advisor to the cabinet of the Government of India. He had Weldon medal from Oxford University in 1944 and Padma Vibhushan in 1968. He was also elected a fellow of the Royal Society, London in 1945 and Honorary President of International Statistical Institute in 1957.

P.C. Mahalanobis Photo

Scientist P.C. Mahalanobis wallpaper

Indian Statistical Institute, Photo

MEGHNAD SAHA (1893 – 1956 )

2010-01-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

MEGHNAD SAHA was a great Indian scientist. He made remarkable contribution to the field of Astrophysics. He put forward an “ionization formula” which explained the presence of the spectral lines. Meghnad Saha belonged to a poor family and struggled to rise in life. He was born in Seoratali, Dacca district, now in Bangladesh, on October 6, 1893. He was the fifth child of his parents, Sri Jagannath Saha and Smt. Bhubneshwari Devi. His father was a petty grocer who barely managed to keep his large family from starvation. Meghnad Saha started his education in the primary school of the village. The nearest such school was in another village about 10 kilometers away. He was lucky in that one Dr. Anantha Kumar Das took an interest in him and offered free board and lodging, so the young Meghnad could go to school. Later in life, he took every opportunity to express his gratitude to Anantha Kumar Das for this timely help at such a crucial stage, without which his education may never have continued.

Meghnad Saha took admission in the Kishorilal Jubilee School and passed the Entrance examination of the Calcutta University in 1909, standing first among the student from East Bengal obtaining the highest marks in languages (English, Bengali and Sanskrit combined) and in Mathematics. In 1911, he ranked third in the ISc exam while the first position went to another great scientist Satyendranath Bose. After that he took admission in Presidency College Calcutta. In 1913, he graduated from Presidency College with Mathematics major and got the second rank in the first one. In 1915, both S. N. Bose and Meghnad Saha ranked first in M.Sc. exam, Meghnad Saha in Applied Mathematics and S.N. Bose in Pure Mathematics.

In 1917, He started his professional career and joined as lecturer at the newly opened University College of Science in Calcutta. He taught Quantum Physics. Along with S.N. Bose, He translated the papers published in German by Einstein and Hermann Minkowski on relativity into English versions. In 1919, American Astrophysical Journal published – “On Selective Radiation Pressure and its Application” – a research paper by Meghnad Saha. He put forward an “onization formula” which explained the presence of the spectral lines. The formula proved to be a breakthrough in astrophysics. He went abroad and stayed for two years. He spent time in research at Imperial College, London and at a research at Imperial College, London and at a research laboratory in Germany. In 1927, Meghnad Saha was elected as a fellow of ‘London’s Royal Society’.

In 1932, Meghnad Saha moved to Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh Academy of Science was established. He returned to Science College, Calcutta in 1938. During this time, Saha got interested in Nuclear physics, which later was named after him as Saha Institute of Nuclear physics in the curriculum of higher studies of science. Having seen cyclotrons used for research in nuclear physics abroad, he ordered one to be installed in the institute. In 1950, India had its first cyclotron in operation. He invented an instrument to measure the weight and pressure of solar rays. He produced the famous equation, which he called ‘equation of the reaction-isobar for ionization’, which later became known as Saha’s “Thermo-Ionization Equation”.

Saha was the leading spirit in organizing the scientific societies like the ‘National Academy of Science’ (1930), ‘Indian Institute of Science’ (1935), and the ‘ Indian Association for the Cultivation of science’ (1944). The lasting memorial to him is the ‘Saha Institute of Nuclear physics’ founded in 1943 in Calcutta. He was the chief architect of river planning in India. He prepared the original plan for Damodar Valley Project. Meghnad Saha was an Indian astrophysicist who nominated for the ‘Nobel prize’ in physics in 1935-36. In 1952, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the North-West Calcutta constituency. He was an advocate for the peaceful use of nuclear energy and instrumental in the reformation of the Indian calendar. He died on February 16, 1956 due to a heart attack.

Meghnad Saha Photo

Scientist Meghnad Saha Images

M.K. VAINU BAPPU ( 1927-1982 )

2010-01-05T23:12:00.000-08:00

Manali Kallat VAINU BAPPU was a great astronomer and president of the International Astronomical Union. Being one of the greatest astronomers of India, Vainu has contributed much to the revival of optical astronomy in Independent India. Vainu was born on August 10, 1927 to a senior astronomer in the Nizamiah Observatory, Hyderabad. He was the only child of Manali Kukuzhi and Sunanna Bappu. Vainu Bappu was not only excelled in studies but took active part in debates, sports and other extra curricular activities. However astronomy to which he was exposed from an early age became his passion. Being a keen amateur astronomer, even as an undergraduate, he had published papers on variable star observations. After getting his Masters degree in physics from Madras University, Vainu Bappu joined the prestigious Harvard University on a scholarship.

Within a few months of his arrival at Harvard University, Bappu discovered a comet and it was named Bappu-Bok-Newkirk after him and his colleagues Bart Bok and Gordon Newkirk. He completed his Ph D in 1952 and joined the fellowship. He and Colin Wilson made an important observation about the luminosity of particular kind of stars. This important observation came to known as the Bappu-Wilson effect and is used to determine the luminosity and distance of these kinds of stars. He came back to India in 1953 and played a major role in building the Uttar Pradesh State Observatory in Nainital. In 1960, he look over a as the director of the kodaikanal observatory and contributed a lot in the modernization of it. In 1986, he established the observatory with a powerful telescope in Kavalur, Tamilnadu.

He was awarded the "Donhoe Comet Medal" by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1949. He was elected as the President of the International Astronomical Union in 1979. He was also elected as the Honorary Foreign Fellow of the Belgium Academy of Sciences and was an Honorary Member of the American Astronomical Society. He died on 19 August 1982 but his name will always be remembered in the history of modern indian astronomy. He was the first indian astronomer whose name had tagged to a comet bappu-bok-new kirk. He succeeded to establish indian institute of astrophysics at bangalore. His ambition of setting up a powerful 2.34m telescope was materialized in 1986, four years after his death.

M. K. Vainu Bappu Photo

Scientist M. K. Vainu Bappu Images

Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar (1894 – 1955 )

2010-01-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

Dr. Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar was a great Scientist of India. He was known as “The Father of Research Laboratories”. He is remembered for having established various chemical laboratories like central Food Processing Technological Institute at Mysore, National chemical laboratory at Pune (Maharastra), the National Metallurgical Laboratory at Jamshedpur and many others.

Bhatnagar was born on February 21, 1894 in Shahpur, now in Pakistan. His father, Parmeshwari Sahai Bhatnagar passed away when he was only eight months old. He spent his childhood in the house of his maternal grandfather, who was an engineer, where he developed an interest in science and engineering. He used to enjoy building mechanical toys, electronic batteries, and string telephones. From his maternal family he also inherited a gift of poetry, and his Urdu one-act play “Karamati” won the first prize in a competition. After completing his M. Sc. in India, he went to England on a fellowship. He got his D. Sc. degree from the London University in the year 1921, under the guidance of chemistry professor Frederick G. Donna. When he came back, Bhatnagar was presented with proposal of professorship at the renowned Banaras Hindu University.

Bhatnagar used to spend all his spare time in his laboratory doing research. Dr. Bhatnagar was knighted by the British Government in the year 1941 as an award for his research in science, whereas, on March 18, 1943 he was selected as fellow of the Royal Society. Though his area of interest included emulsions, colloids, and industrial chemistry, but his primary contributions were in the spheres of magneto- chemistry. He also made a melodious kulgeet i.e. University song, which is still sung with great pride before any function in his University.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru himself was an activist of scientific development. After India gained freedom from British rule in 1947, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research were established under the leadership of Dr. Bhatnagar, who was appointed its first director-general. Later he was awarded ‘Padma Bhushan’. He became the first director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 1940. He died on 1 January 1955. After his death, ASIR established a Bhatnager Memorial award for eminent scientists in his honour.

Scientist Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar photo

Kariamanikkam Srinivasa Krishnan (KSK) 1898-1961

2009-11-14T09:25:00.000-08:00

Kariamanikkam Srinivasa Krishnan, generally known as K. S. Krishnan and KSK. Mostly he is known as co-discoverer of the famous Raman Effect, a discovery which brought the first and till date the only Nobel Prize in Science to India. The Prize was awarded to Krishnan’s mentor and research guide C.V. Raman in 1930. The citation for the Nobel Prize also stated that the Prize was given to Raman for his work on the scattering of light and the discovery of the effect named after him. In reality, there is no controversy. Raman deserved the Prize. KSK was an outstanding physicist of international repute. He made pioneering contributions in a number of fields of physics. He had the ability to recognize and exploit connection between phenomena in different fields of physics.

Sir K.S. Krishnan won his scientific spurs by opening peepholes into the interiors of molecules. One such peephole was provided by his collaboration in the discovery of the Raman Effect (C. V. Raman was his mentor and guide at the time) another was the invention of an ingenious experimental technique to establish correlations between the magnetic properties of crystals and their internal architecture. A third was the mapping of the energy distribution of electrons in graphite crystals.

KSK played an important role in the field of development of science and technology in India. He was deeply associated with the premier scientific educational organizations in the country like the Atomic Energy Commission, the Council of Scientific and industrial Research and the University Grants Commission. He was a great teacher, a real guru in the tradition of great ancient sages. Besides being a ‘complete physicist’, he was ‘a whole man with an integrated personality’. He was a staunch nationalist. He forcefully championed the cause of science writing in mother tongue. He himself ably performed the task in Tamil. He was a distinguished writer in Tamil. KSK strongly believed that one could convey even very complicated scientific facts in his mother tongue. His scholarship and appreciation of Tamil literature must have given the gift to perform this task with ease. In one of his articles, he speaks of his school science teacher Thirumalai Kozhunthu Pillai, who encouraged the students by teaching science in an him, he got the conviction that difficult scientific concepts could be conveyed in Tamil. He was a sports enthusiast and played tennis, bridge and football. He had mastery over Sanskrit and Tamil literature. KSK since his childhood developed an abiding love of religion and Indian philosophies. Many people have noted that it was a pleasure to listen him. He could always find an appropriate anecdote to drive home a moral or disarm a critic or just entertain.

KSK was born on December 4, 1898, in the village of Wartrap, District of Tamilnadu. His father was a school teacher. After schooling in his village school and at the Hindu High School at the neighbouring town Srivilliputtur, he studied in the American College, Madurai and Christian College Chennai (then madras). KSK’s interest for science grew in his school days. After taking a master degree in physics, KSK became a demonstrator in chemistry. Here, at the request of some of his students, KSK organized an informal lunch-hour discussion where the students were free to discuss any question in physics, mathematics, and chemistry. It became so popular that students from nearby Colleges stated attending it. Often the big gallery of the lecture room used to be full to over flowing.

In 1920, Krishnan went to work with C.V. Raman at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata (then Calcutta). KSK worked very hard. It is said that his work in the laboratory began at 6 A.M., often after an early walk and a cold bath. But his interests were not confined to research alone. He also studied a lot of literature, religion and philosophy. At the age of 62, on 14 June 1961, he died after a heart attack.

Kariamanikkam Srinivasa Krishnan photo

Dr. Hargobind Khorana

2009-10-31T10:52:00.000-07:00

Hargobind Khorana is an Indian- American molecular biologist. In 1968, He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his excellent work on the interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis. This award made him famous in all over the world. He was the citizen of India but he became a naturalized citizen of the United State America in the year 1966, and subsequently received the National Medal of Science. Currently he is living in Cambridge, In United State as a part of the MIT Chemistry faculty.

Hargobind Khorna was born into a poor family on January 9, 1922 in a small village of Raipur, Punjab (now in Pakistan). His father was the village patwari or taxation officer. He completed his secondary education from D A V High School in Multan, now in Pakistan. He obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degree from Punjab University at Lahore. Then he went to England on a Government scholarship and there he obtained a PhD from the University of Liverpool in 1948. Dr. Khorana spent a year in Zurich in 1949 as a post-doctoral fellow at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and returned to India for a brief period in 1949. He returned to England in 1950 and spent two years on a fellowship at Cambridge, and began research on nucleic acids under Sir Alexander Todd and Kenner. His interest in proteins and nucleic acids took root at that time. In 1952, he went to the University of British Columbia, Vancouver on a job offer and there a group began to work in the field of biologically interesting phosphate esters and nucleic acids with the inspiration from Dr. Gordon M. Shrum and Scientific counsel from Dr. Jack Campbell. Khorana married with Esther Elizabeth Sibler in 1952 and they have three children, two daughters Julia Elizabeth, Emily Anne and one son David Roy. When he returned to his native place, he was unable to find academic work in Punjab’s crony-filled colleges. Khorana instead sought a career in Canada and finally the united state.

Dr. Khorana who showed how the genetic code determines all life processes by directing the synthesis of all cell protiens finally unraveled the secret of the DNA code of life. Dr. Khorana won many awards and honors like the Novel Prize for his achievement. Distinguished Service Award, Watumull Foundation, Honolulu, Hawali, American academy of achievement awards, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Padma Vibhushan, Predential Award, J C Bose Medal and Willard Gibbs medal of the chicago section of American Chemical Society. He was also elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, as well as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1971, he became a foreign member of USSR Academy of Sciences and in 1974, an Honorary Fellow of the Indian Chemical Society.

Khorana’s work, which is an most important scientific landmark of the twentieth century, has brought closer the day when synthetic DNA may be introduced into the defective human tissues to bring about their repair or treat mentally retarded people and change them into more intelligent and healthy human beings. His synthesis of RNA, capable of replication in laboratory, is a step towards the creation of life artificially. In fact, the research has opened up a new branch called Genetic Engineering in Science.

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Great Scientist Hargobind Khorana picture

Scientist Hargobind Khorana images

Dr. Hargobind Khorana wallpaper

Nobel prize winner Dr. Hargobind Khorana with other scientists

Homi J. Bhabha (1909 - 1966 )

2009-10-26T23:18:00.000-07:00

Homi J. Bhabha was the eminent scientist who played a key role in the development of the Indian atomic energy program. He is aslo considered as the father of India's nuclear program. He was born on October 30, 1909 in a Parsi family of Mumbai. He was the son of Jehangir Hormaji Bhabha and Meherbai Framji Panday. His father was a Oxford- educated barrister.

Bhabha received his early education at Bombay’s Cathedral Grammer School and Royal institute of Science. After that he went to the Cambridge, England for further education. he entered in the Caius College for Mechanical engineering. Before India’s independence, Dr Bhabha and Nobel Laureate Sir C V Raman established the Cosmic Ray Research unit at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore in 1939. In 1945, he established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research at Mumbai with the help of J R D Tata. Bhabha received the blessing of Pandit Nehru for effort in India, towards peaceful development of atomic energy. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on March 20 1941.

He also established the Atomic Energy Commission of India in 1948. He represented India in International Atomic Energy Forums, and as President of the United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, in Geneva in 1955. He died in a plane crash near Mont Blanc on January 24, 1966. After the death of bhabha, the Atomic establishment was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.

Dr. Homi J. Bhabha picture

Homi J. Bhabha photo

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Homi J. Bhabha wallpaper

Jagdish Chandra Bose (1858 - 1937)

2009-10-23T00:46:00.000-07:00

Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, generally known as J.C. Bose, occupies a unique position in the history of modern Indian science. He is regarded as India’s first modern scientist. Jagdish Chandra Bose was an Indian physicist who pioneered the investigation of radio and microwave optics. Bose was born on November 30, 1858 in Munshiganj District in Bengal (Now situated in Bangladesh). His father Bhagwan Chandra Bose served the British India Government in various executive and magistrate of Faridpur and it is here Bose’s early childhood was mainly spent.

His family originally hailed from the village Rarikhal, Bikrampur, in the current day Dhaka, Capital of Bangladesh. He started his education in a vernacular school. Then he joined the St. Xavier’s School and college at Calcutta (Kalkata). He passed the Entrance examination (equivalent to school graduation) of Calcutta University in 1875. He received a B.Sc. from Calcutta University in 1879. In January 1882, Bose left London for Cambridge where he took admission in Christ’s College to study natural sciences. His decision to join the Christ’s College was influenced by the fact that his brother -in-law, Ananda Mohan Bose had earlier studied there. Ananda Mohan, who took the Mathematics Tripos in 1874, was Cambridge’s first Indian wrangler in 1884 Bose obtained a Bechelor of Arts with a second class in natural sciences tripos and in the same year he also obtained a Bechelor of Science from the University of London.After completing his education he came back to Kolkatta and was appointed professor of physical science at Presidency College, Calcutta and holds this post till 1915. In 1917 he founded Bose Research Institute and became director of the same institute at Calcutta and remained in the post until his death on November 23, 1937. Jagadish Chandra Bose was one of the pioneers of modern science in India. His research was on the properties of electro-magnetic waves.

Jagdish Chandra Bose picture

Jagdish Chandra Bose Photo

Jagdish Chandra Bose images

The great scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose