Every person has questions in their mind. But few really try to solve it. The National Science Day is observed for celebrating the solution of a little confusion that arose in the mind of a scientist. A scientist who did not give up until he finally solved his question, “Why do Oceans look blue?”
Who was the Scientist
Albert Einstein once said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning.” Questioning is the starting point of any scientific invention. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was one of the greatest physicists of India and the world of all time. When Sir Raman was returning to India from London, he noticed the Ocean from the ship, when he suddenly thought about the reason for the ocean looking bluish. Scientist Rayleigh had already given an explanation of how the sky looks blue and with this theory, the reason for Oceans being blue was described as the reflection of the colour of the sky. However, Sir Raman was not satisfied with this explanation. So, he decided to inspect this question a little deeper.
What did he find out
He started working on the problem after returning to India. He discovered a theory that we know as the Raman Effect now. Raman Effect explains the process of inelastic scattering of light after falling on the surface of water particles. When the wave falls on the water particles, it scatters into three types of waves. One type of those wave has the same wavelength as the incident wave, and the other two types have different wavelengths. One of the latter two types have a wavelength longer than the incident wavelength and the other has a smaller wavelength than the incident wavelength. So when a light wave falls on the water of oceans, it scatters into waves of different wavelengths. However, water absorbs other visual waves, like yellow, red, green and can not absorb blue light very well. So, we only see the colour of oceans as blue.
Applications of Raman Effect in today’s world
Raman Effect discovery has made a significant contribution to modern science. Raman Spectroscopy is the most prevalent application of the Raman Effect. In chemistry, Raman spectroscopy identifies molecules, reveals chemical bonding, and examines intramolecular bonding and interactions. The market of Raman Spectroscopy has reached over 600 million in the year 2021 and is expected to grow by over 860 million by 2026. It is used to analyse some of the most complex diseases like cancer, figure out drug-cell interaction, purity of semiconductors, know-how minerals respond when exposed to extreme conditions, etc.
The 28th February
On this day in 1928, Dr C.V. Raman first announced the discovery of “Modified Scattering”, now known as “Raman Scattering” or the “Raman Effect”. The National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) suggested to the Government of India that February 28 be designated as National Science Day in 1986. This day is celebrated every year which includes speeches and lectures on television, radio and ceremonies. Every year a theme is selected for the day. Honourable Union Minister Jitendra Singh launched the theme for National Science Day 2022, which is “Integrated Approach in Science and Technology for Sustainable Future''.
What did we learn
People have tons of questions in their minds that they rarely try to decipher. Every small question can be a door towards immense possibilities. The question, “Why Oceans are blue?” might be small before the mystery got finally solved, no the solution opened the door to millions of employment and solution to many industrial problems. People should never stop questioning. Questioning is what differentiates humans from other animals.