The Nobel Prize has shared archival footage of Indian physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman arriving in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1930 to receive his Nobel Prize in Physics. The video was posted on November 6, on the eve of Raman’s 138th birth anniversary, which falls on November 7.
The black-and-white clip offers a glimpse of the scientist during his visit to Sweden, where he was honoured for his groundbreaking discovery of the Raman Effect. The Raman Effect describes how a small proportion of light changes its wavelength when scattered by molecules. The discovery laid the foundation for Raman spectroscopy, a technique used to identify substances and examine their molecular structure. Raman’s contributions extended beyond the discovery that earned him the Nobel Prize. His research covered acoustics, optics and the properties of crystals. His work continues to influence scientific research across the world.
Raman discovered the phenomenon that would later bear his name on February 28, 1928, according to his official Nobel Prize biography . India observes National Science Day on February 28 every year to commemorate his discovery of the Raman Effect. Raman died on November 21, 1970, aged 82.
Raman received the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics “for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after him”, according to Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings .
