National Science Day and Raman Spectroscopy

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Context:

• The Government released the Theme for the "National Science Day 2023", titled "Global Science for Global Wellbeing".

History of National Science Day:

• In 1986, the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC)asked the Indian government to observe February 28 as National Science Day.
• Since then, National Science Day has been celebrated all over India in schools, colleges, universities, and other academic, scientific, technical, medical, and research institutions.
• On this day, a well-known scientist of India C V Raman got the scientific breakthrough of the Raman Effect and that is why 28th Feb is celebrated as a National Science Day to praise the effort made by C V Raman in the field of Science. After the successful research of the Raman Effect, Indian scientist C V Raman was awarded a Nobel prize in 1930 for his brilliant effort and that was the debut Nobel prize received by any Indian in the field of Science. 

Significance of National Science Day:

• National Science Day is held to raise awareness of the value of science and technology in everyday living.
• It is commemorated in order to showcase all operations, endeavours, and successes accomplished in science for the well-being of humans.
• It is a privilege to examine any topic and introduce additional technology into practice for the advancement of science in India.
• It provides a chance for India’s scientifically inclined populace to inspire individuals and promote awareness of science and technology. 

Raman Spectroscopy:

• Raman is a light scattering technique, whereby a molecule scatters incident light from a high-intensity laser light source.
• Most of the scattered light is at the same wavelength (or color) as ---- this is called Rayleigh Scatter.
• However a small amount of light (typically 0.0000001%) is scattered at different wavelengths (or colors), which depend on the chemical structure of the analyte – this is called Raman Scatter.

Important Applications:

The following are some important areas which use Raman spectroscopy to great effect.

Pharmaceutical Agents and Cosmetic Products

• The distribution of a compound within a tablet.
• The concentration of an API(Active Pharmaceutical Agent).
• Testing the content and purity of a powder.
• Verifying raw material quality.
• Identification of contaminants.

Geology and Mineralogy

• Identification of various minerals and precious/semiprecious stones.
• Studying the distribution of minerals and phases within a section of rock.
• Studying the behavior of minerals under harsh conditions.
• Identifying chondrite or achondrite meteorites.

Carbon Materials

• Study of single-walled carbon nanotubes.
• Testing hard disk drives.
• Detection of defects or disorder in carbon materials.
• Testing diamond quality and place of origin.
• Measuring the electrical properties and the number of layers of 2D materials like graphene.

Semiconductors

• Assaying the purity.
• Analysis of the composition of an alloy.
• Identifying contaminants.
• Analyzing defects in a structure.
• Microanalysis of photoluminescence

Life Sciences

• Analysis of biocompatibility of a material.
• Analysis of nucleic acids.
• Study of interactions between drugs and cells.
• Diagnosis of disease.
• Analysis of individual cells.
• Cell sorting applications.
• Analyzing the features of biomolecules.
• Study of bone structure.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1889763