2. About the author

"Water - the Elixir of Life" has been written by Sir C.V. Raman.

 

  

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was born in the year $1888$, in a Tamil Hindu family. He excelled in his studies from childhood and completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Madras with honours in physics from Presidency College at the age of $16$. He published research papers while still a student in college in $1906$. He went on to do his Masters degree. When he was $19$, he joined the Indian Financial Services as Assistant Accountant General in Kolkata, since he did not find many opportunities in the field of science. Later, he was appointed as a Physics Professor in the University of Kolkatta in $1917$. He founded the Indian Journal of Physics in $1926$.

 

On Feb $28$th, $1928$ he made revolutionary discoveries in the field of "light scattering". The phenomenon came to be known as the "Raman scattering/Raman Effect".  The day is celebrated by the Government of India as the National Science Day every year. (Scattering is a term used in physics to describe a wide range of physical processes where moving particles of any form (light/sound), is forced to deviate from a straight course). He became the first Indian Director in the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore in $1933$, and subsequently founded the Indian Academy of Science. Further, he established the Raman Research Institute in $1948$ where he worked till the end of his life.