Would like to have a short thread on Acharya JC Bose and his contribution to semiconductors. He was a man 60 years ahead of his time.
In 1864, Maxwell predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves, and said that they travel at the speed of light. Hertz proved their existence in 1887.
The lyrical beauty of Maxwell's equations! These were reformulated in the form we see today by Oliver Heaviside.
The lyrical beauty of Maxwell's equations! These were reformulated in the form we see today by Oliver Heaviside.
Branly a French inventor, physicist and professor invented the coherer, a type of radio waves detector around 1890. Around 1894, Jagadish Chandra Bose started his research on microwaves.
Bose began his work using similar apparatus that Hertz had used, but quickly realised that they generated long wavelengths, which meant he needed larger instruments.
So he decided to study shorter wavelength waves, and designed and built equipment to generate millimetre waves. In the process, he modified the coherer too.
In Nov 1894, he demonstrated that these microwaves can travel over walls, people and actually close a switch in a remote place, to ring a bell.
During the course of building coherers, Bose discovered that the material used to build these coherers belonged to two distinct groups - electropositive and electronegative.
Coherers made of electropositive material when connected to a galvanometer showed an increase in the flow of current on detecting microwaves, where as in the case of electronegative ones, the current reduced.
Bose also made another coherer made of galena (lead sulphide). The galena based coherer was electropositive, and could detected a range of microwaves including visible light! Bose therefore called this coherer as an “artificial eye”.
What we are seeing here is that probably Bose built the first semiconductor based detectors, and had actually discovered the concept of n-type and p-type semiconductors, which he had termed as electropositive and electronegative. 60 years ahead of his time!
Around 1898, Karl Ferdinand Braun invented a type of diode during the development of the radio. He used the rectifying properties of galena crystal (lead sulfide). In 1909, Braun shared the Nobel Prize in physics with Guglielmo Marconi for the development of wireless telegraphy
In 1956, in a Stockholm concert hall, three American scientists, John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain, received the Nobel prize “for research in semiconductors and the discovery of transistor effect”. And the semiconductor era began!
Now a peek behind this chronology of research and development, where Acharya JC Bose played a key role.
Let us look at the emblem of the Bose Institute at Kolkata, founded by him. This emblem is the Vajra.
Let us look at the emblem of the Bose Institute at Kolkata, founded by him. This emblem is the Vajra.
Vajra. Sister Nivedita had designed it and suggested as a possible national emblem and flag design as early as in 1906!
Sister Nivedita was Bose's motivator, but also for years organised financial support for all his work! She actively helped him write four of his books!
Sister Nivedita was Bose's motivator, but also for years organised financial support for all his work! She actively helped him write four of his books!
In 1900, Bose represented India in “International Congress of Physicist” at the Paris Exhibition and Vivekananda participated in the conference on the History of Religion.
Here they came to know one another more intimately. Vivekananda’s response was overwhelming, seeing Bose being honoured in the midst of world-class scientists. He wrote highly of his achievement making India proud. This article so well describes it.
thestatesman.com/opinion/bellig…
thestatesman.com/opinion/bellig…
Swami Vivekananda has also inspired the founding of the Indian Institute of Science during a conversation between him and Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata aboard a cruise-liner headed to Chicago in 1896. A letter dated this day, 1898 exactly 121 yrs ago
There are other influences too. Some of them may not fit into our position on missionaries today. But Father Eugene Lafont, of the Belgian Christian society, a pioneer in science teaching in India significantly influenced and mentored JC Bose.
And we have the viceroy, Lord Ripon himself who personally nominated Acharya JC Bose in the Imperial Service as a Physics Professor at Presidency College, and personally followed it up, when the administration did not want to offer such a high post to an Indian.
The chequerboard - from Lord Ripon to Swami Vivekananda, from a Belgian missionary to Sister Nivedita, Marconi who used a mercury coherer for transatlantic wireless transmission experiments; we have Acharya JC Bose in the middle. And we need to teach about him to our next gen.
