[MOS] March 31, 2009

[Zina Queen]

Seminar on

Modern Optics and Spectroscopy

C.V. Raman: discovery of the effect and attribution of credit

Barry Masters, MIT

Tuesday, March 31, 2009


12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

In 1928, C. V. Raman (1888-1970) discovered the Raman Effect. Prior 
to Raman's experimental discovery the Raman effect was predicted in 
papers by Smekal, and later by Kramers and Heisenberg. What is the 
physical basis of the Raman Effect? What is the importance of Raman 
spectroscopy in the field of optics? What was the detailed nature of 
the key experiments that resulted in this discovery?  How did Raman's 
experiments fit into the corpus of knowledge on the topic of light 
scattering and spectroscopy at the time. Two Russian physicists, G. 
S. Landsberg (1890-1957) and L. I. Mandelstam (1879-1944) made a 
simultaneous discovery of the same effect. This talk is based on the 
primary sources: the complete published works of C. V. Raman;  the 
published works of Smekal; Kramers and Heisenberg; Landsberg, and 
Mandelstam; together with a number of published biographical papers 
and books that I use to decipher the confounding path to the 
discovery of the Raman Effect. What was the role of Adolf Smekal on 
the Smekal-Raman Effect? What was the scientific style of C. V. 
Raman? How was his discovery of the Raman Effect received by the 
physics community? Why did the Nobel Prize award not include the two 
Russian physicists who made the simultaneous discovery of the Raman 
Effect? Finally, following a perusal of the complete published works 
of C. V. Raman what can we conclude about his interests, his research 
methodology, and his scientific style that may provide insights into 
the origins of creative genius?

Grier Room, MIT Bldg 34-401
Refreshments served after the lecture
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