Why was February 28 declared as National Science Day?

BY A STAFF REPORTER: National Science Day is celebrated in India on 28 February every year to commemorate the discovery of the Raman effect by Indian physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (also known as Sir CV Raman). On 28 February 1928, Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, making him the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize in the scientific field.

The Raman effect is a phenomenon in which a photon interacts with a molecule, causing it to undergo changes in energy and momentum. In particular, when a photon interacts with a molecule, it can transfer some of its energy and momentum to the molecule, causing it to vibrate or rotate. This change in the energy and momentum of the molecule results in a change in the wavelength of the scattered photons, known as Raman scattering.

The Raman effect is used in Raman spectroscopy, which is a technique used to detect and analyze the chemical composition of substances. In Raman spectroscopy, a laser is used to excite the molecules in a sample, and the resulting Raman scattering is measured and analyzed to determine the vibration and rotation modes of the molecules in the sample.

According to sources, the idea of celebrating National Science Day was first proposed by the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) in 1986 and subsequently it was adopted by the Government of India. The first National Science Day was celebrated on February 28, 1987.