Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858-1937)
[Lesson-4]
Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, popularly known as J.C.
Bose occupies a unique position in the history of modern Indian science. He was
widely considered the doyen of Indian science particularly in the field of botany.
He was a Bengali polymath, physicist,
botanist, archaeologist and an early writer of science fiction.
(doyen=leading light/exemplar/pioneer Polymath=a
person with extraordinarily broad knowledge)
He pioneered the investigation of radio and microwave optics, made
significant contribution to plant
science and laid the foundations of experimental science in the Indian
subcontinent. He had initially done phenomenal work as physicist and later turned into a top rated plant biologist.
Bose is considered the father of Bengal science
fiction. He invented the Cresograph,
a device for measuring the growth of plants. IEEE has recently named him one of
the fathers of radio science. A crater on the moon has been named in his
honour.
Birth and
birthplace
Jagadish Chandra Bose was born on 30 November 1858
in Mymensingh, now in Bangladesh. In the year 1971, the people of Bangladesh
fought to separate the then East Pakistan from Pakistan to form Bangladesh. There
were many Sanskrit schools in the region and it gave rise to many scholars.
Parents
Bose’s father Bhagaban
Chandra Bose was Deputy Magistrate of Faridpur District. He was a follower
of the Brahmo religion, whereas his wife Bhamasundari
Debi was an orthodox who practiced Hindu religion and rituals. Jagadish had
5 sisters and a brother. Bose was greatly influenced by his father’s ideals
Bhagaban Chandra Bose was highly educated and had a
great appreciation for science as a subject. He wanted his son to become a
scientist. He was a fearless leader who protected his town as well as numerous
adjoining villages. He used to have good command over his people and his force.
It is said that he even offered job for a dacoit to take care of young Jagadish.
Bhagaban Chandra Bose wanted his son to study in a
vernacular school because he believed that one must have command over one’s own
mother tongue and one’s own culture, tradition, literature and people. Bose
studied with the children of farmers, fishermen and workers. This exposed him
to various themes that were going in the society. The stories his classmates
told about nature and everyday life sowed the seeds of Bose’s interest in
investigating the works of nature. They inspired him to read the great epics,
Mahabharata and Ramayana. His mother showed no discrimination of caste among
Bose’s friends and used to feed everyone.
.
Education
Bose was sent to Calcutta to join Hare School in 1869 and then St. Xavier’s School. Later, he joined
the St. Xavier’s college where he
was associated with a Jesuit, Father
Eugene Lafont who was known as Father of Modern Science in Calcutta. Bose
received his bachelor’s degree from
the University of Calcutta in 1879
in physics.
Bose wanted to go to England for higher studies but
there were hindrances. The family’s financial condition was not good at that
time as Bose’s father had invested huge amount in tea business and failed in
it. Bose’s mother already lost a son and sending another son far away in the
name of education was unbearable to her. But, she took a decision to send him
off by selling her jewellery and ornaments. This decision not only changed the
life of Jagadish but also helped the cause of advancement of science in India.
Bose took up medicine
in England, but was throughout afflicted by fever. So he took up science the
next year at Christ’s college which
was in Cambridge University, for
which he won a scholarship. He took up the course of Natural Science. He took
up rowing as sport to improve his health condition. He studied under Lord
Rayleigh who discovered Argon and went on to win a Nobel prize for that. Bose
received Natural Science Tripos from
the University of Cambridge and also
completed a B.Sc. from the University of
London.
Early career
Bose wanted to join the Imperial Education Service
(IES) but he was not offered with that despite of great recommendation. He was
given the post of Officiating Professor of Physics at The Presidency College,
Calcutta. His salary was half the salary that an English got for the same post.
Bose accepted the position but put a fight against the discrimination by not
taking his salary. He started teaching in the best possible way and stressed on
both theoretical and practical sides of sciences. After 3 years, his salary was
increased to the same level as an English professor and he received his entire
salary in arrears. He used this money to repay the debt of his father.
Contributions as
a scientist
In 1894, on his 36th birthday, he decided
to pursue scientific research. He conducted his researches in a small room
given by the Presidency College.
His first research was on electric radiation. He
devised and fabricated a very sensitive radiator called ‘coheror’ which was earlier invented by Branly and Lodge. With this
improvised version of the equipment, Bose could show various properties of
radio waves like reflection, absorption, interference, double reflection and
polarization.
In 1895, Bose presented a public demonstration at
Town Hall in Calcutta where he sent an electromagnetic wave across 75 feet,
passing through walls to remotely ring a bell and explode some gunpowder.
He also demonstrated a new type of radio waves as
small as 1 cm to 5mm, which we now call microwaves.
His papers titled “On the Polarisation of Electric Rays by Double Reflecting
Crystals” and “On the Determination of the Indices of Refraction of Sulphur for
the Electric Ray” were published in the Royal Societiy’s proceedings. Other
papers in The Electrician of Friday which
was started by Michael Farady.
Bose was invited to deliver a lecture at the Royal
Institution, London. He demonstrated his
devices for the generation and detection of radio waves.
Bose created wireless
communication as much as two years before Guglielmo Marconi, but Marconi
won the Nobel prize for it as he had sent it first and as Bose had no awareness
and knowledge of its significance. Also, Bose never bothered about patenting
his work. He kept them open to entire world to adopt. He believed that science
and its application is for the benefit of mankind.
Bose was fascinated by the ‘fatigue’ and ‘revival’
displayed by metals. He observed that metals too had ‘feelings’ and that they
too had ‘sensitivity’. But the results were not very regular and his attention
shifted to plants. The pulse beat of the plant is shown as a light spot, which
responded to poison, proving that plants have life. His path-breaking discovery
was opposed at first by some scientists at the Royal Society. Later, he was
able to prove that plants respond to outside stimuli like chemicals, drugs,
wounds, electric waves, electric shock, heat/cold, touch, music etc.
Bose being a physicist could device and invent very
sensitive instruments to help him in research. One such instrument was ‘Crescograph’ which measures the growth
of a plant in a very microscopic way. It could record a growth as small as
ten-millionth inch per second. He made most of his sensitivity experiments on
plants like Mimosa pudica(touch-me-not). His findings had wide implications and
eventually influenced subjects like physiology, chronobiology, cybernetics,
medicine and agriculture.
Bose was invited by the physical society of Paris to
advise and explain the results of his experiment. There, Bose read his paper on
“The Similarity Responses of Inorganic and Living Matter”. Swami Vivekananda
happened to be there in Paris and attended his lecture. He later praised Bose
for his contribution to the scientific achievement
Achievements and
Awards
Bose won the reputation of presenting his papers at
the Royal Society of London on a Friday evening. His papers were published in
the proceedings of Royal Society as well as The Friday Electrician. He was
invited by the Physical Society of Paris to explain his experiments.
He was considered as the pioneer of Bengali science
fiction. His book ‘Polatok Toofan’
(Absconding Storm) described how a cyclone could be averted using a bottle of
hair oil. It explained how oil changes the surface tension and holds water. His
book ‘Niruddesher Kahini’ (Story of
the Untraceable) was the first major Bengali science fiction.
The University of London offered him an honorary
Doctor of Science (D. Sc.)
The Bose
institute was started in 1917 for research work. Rabindranath Tagore helped
Bose greatly in funding the money.
He continued as Professor
Emeritus on full pay instead of pension, after his retirement.
In 1903, Bose was honoured with the title of the
Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE).
In 1912, he was awarded the Commander of the Star of
India (CSI)
He was also given the title of “Sir” by the British monarch.
He was elected the Fellow of Royal Society
of London in 1928.
The Acharya Jagadish
Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden (Shibpur,
near Kolkata) is named in the honor of this extraordinary scientist.
IEEE has recently has recently acknowledged him as
one of the pioneers in discovery of radio science.
A crater on the moon has been named in his honour.
Bose breathed his last on 23 November 1937 leaving
behind a legacy which will keep the country’s head high for years to come.
Thankyou mam for this extraordinary summary
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