28th February: National Science Day

The National Science Day is observed every year on 28th February with an objective to spread message of importance of science and its application among the people. The theme for National Science Day 2018 is “Science and Technology for a sustainable future.”

Significance of Day

The day is observed to mark the discovery of Raman effect by Physicist CV Raman on 28th February, 1928. For his discovery, CV Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.

Background

The National Science Day was instituted by Central Government in 1986 based on the demand of National Council for Science and Technology Communication. The first National Science Day was celebrated on 28 February 1987.
It is celebrated to spread message about importance of science used in daily life of people and popularise science and technology. It also gives an opportunity to scientific-minded citizens in country to showcase their work in organized shows.

Raman effect

It is the inelastic scattering of a photon by molecules which are excited to higher vibrational or rotational energy levels.  In this phenomenon, some part of light beam after passing through transparent medium gets scattered. This phenomenon of scattering of light is termed as Raman Scattering and the cause of scattering is called the Raman Effect. The wavelength of these scattered rays is different from that of the incident rays of light.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2018