Satyendra Nath Bose was born on January 1, 1894 in Calcutta to Surendranath Bose, who worked in the Engineering Department of the East India Railway. He attended Hindu High School and later went on to earn a BSc and MSc in mixed mathematics from Presidency College, Calcutta while securing first rank. In 1916, Calcutta University started MSc courses in modern mathematics and physics, which sparked Bose’s interest in venturing beyond traditional disciplines.
Academic and Research Career
In 1916, Bose started his lecturing career in physics at Calcutta University. He later moved to Dhaka University as a reader in the Physics Department in 1921. He attained full professorship in 1926 based on a recommendation by Albert Einstein himself for his pioneering research presented in a paper titled “Planck’s Law and the Light Quantum Hypothesis.” In the paper sent to Einstein, Bose had created a radically new statistics to describe the microscopic world. This laid the foundations of quantum statistics essential for describing a class of subatomic particles – indistinguishable particles that are later termed ‘bosons’ after Bose.
His work in the 1920s is also considered precursor to that in condensed matter physics and quantum field theory which have become cornerstones of fundamental physics today. After finding fame for the eponymously named Bose-Einstein statistics, Bose continued teaching physics at Dhaka University and later at Calcutta University after returning in 1945. He eventually became Khaira Professor of Physics at Calcutta and also served as the vice chancellor of Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal.
Recognition and Legacy
Satyendra Nath Bose was elected fellow of the prestigious Royal Society in 1958 and honoured with India’s third highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in 1954 in recognition of his contribution to physics. An avantgarde thinker throughout his life, he continued advancing scientific developments in unified field theories and particle physics till his death in 1974. His pioneering work marked a radical shift from classical physics to the now ubiquitous principles of quantum theory and quantum mechanics. Concepts of bosons and Bose-Einstein condensates integral in studying astonishing phenomena like superconductivity and superfluidity are enduring reminders of his monumental influence on modern physics.
