Science Day is celebrated every year in India on February 28 to honour the discovery of a phenomenon of the scattering of photons by Indian scientist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman in 1928.
The discovery was later termed the ‘Raman Effect’ in Mr Raman’s honour.
CV Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize for Science in 1930 for his remarkable discovery.
On the day, schools, colleges, universities and other academic, scientific, technical, medical and research institutions organize quiz competitions, seminars and other events.
Science Day: What is the Raman Effect?
According to the website of the Ministry of Culture, the Raman Effect is a phenomenon in spectroscopy, which is defined as the ‘scattering of photons’ by excited molecules at higher energy levels.
In simple terms, it is the change in the wavelength of light that occurs when a light beam is deflected by molecules.
When a beam of light traverses a dust-free, transparent sample of a chemical compound, a small fraction of the light emerges in directions other than those of the incident (incoming) beam.
Most of this scattered light is of an unchanged wavelength. A small part, however, has wavelengths different from those of the incident light, its presence is a result of the Raman Effect.
History
The National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), in 1986, asked the Government of India to announce February 28 as National Science Day.
The government accepted and declared it then and it was first celebrated on February 28, 1987.
Why is it celebrated?
According to the government, its purpose is to widely spread the message about significance of scientific applications in the daily lives of people, recognize achievements in the field of science, discuss all the issues and implement new technologies for the development of science, give an opportunity to the scientific-minded citizens in the country and encourage people as well as popularize science and technology.
Theme for Science Day 2024
The theme for this year is ‘Indigenous Technologies for Viksit Bharat‘.