This book narrates the history of the initiation and development of elementary particle physics in India and by Indians, focusing on the first half of the twentieth century. The thread is taken up with the introduction of Western science into India in the previous century.
The contents are a mixture of science and biographies, interspersed with anecdotes and reflections on the historical and societal connections. The style is generally non-technical, with any technical issues explained and interwoven into the narrative.
This book is of interest to scientists, to people with interest in science and the history of science, students curious about the initiation of science in the Indian context and about the famous Indian scientists, as well as administrators who wish to understand the roots of current Indian science, especially in the context of particle physics.
|
Part I The Coming and Spread of Western Science |
|
|
|
|
|
5 | (6) |
|
1.1 Map-Making in the Fledgling Raj |
|
|
5 | (2) |
|
1.2 The Great Trigonometric Survey |
|
|
7 | (2) |
|
1.3 The Cantankerous Surveyor |
|
|
9 | (2) |
|
2 The Highest Mountain in the World |
|
|
11 | (8) |
|
|
|
11 | (1) |
|
2.2 Measuring the Great Peaks |
|
|
12 | (2) |
|
|
|
14 | (2) |
|
2.4 The Roof of the World |
|
|
16 | (1) |
|
2.5 The Man Who Discovered Mt. Everest' |
|
|
17 | (2) |
|
3 Reformers and Educators |
|
|
19 | (34) |
|
3.1 The Mohammedan College of Calcutta |
|
|
19 | (2) |
|
3.2 The Fort William College |
|
|
21 | (1) |
|
3.3 The Orientalist Movement |
|
|
22 | (2) |
|
3.4 The Hindu Mahapathshala |
|
|
24 | (2) |
|
3.5 Bentinck and Macaulay |
|
|
26 | (3) |
|
3.6 De Morgan's Ramanujan |
|
|
29 | (3) |
|
3.7 Colleges Proliferate Across India |
|
|
32 | (12) |
|
3.8 Wood's Despatch and the Foundation of Universities |
|
|
44 | (4) |
|
|
|
48 | (1) |
|
3.10 Cultivation of the Sciences |
|
|
49 | (4) |
|
4 Indian Science Comes into its Own |
|
|
53 | (20) |
|
4.1 The `Master of Nitrites' |
|
|
54 | (5) |
|
4.2 The Genius of Jagadis Chundra Bose |
|
|
59 | (6) |
|
|
|
65 | (2) |
|
|
|
67 | (6) |
|
Part II Particle Physics--The Early Days |
|
|
|
|
|
73 | (14) |
|
|
|
73 | (1) |
|
5.2 Radioactivity in Bombay and Bangalore |
|
|
74 | (2) |
|
5.3 The Discovery of Cosmic Rays |
|
|
76 | (2) |
|
5.4 The Rise of D.M. Bose |
|
|
78 | (1) |
|
|
|
79 | (2) |
|
5.6 Cosmic Rays Again: Millikan and Anderson |
|
|
81 | (1) |
|
5.7 Particle Physics Begins in India |
|
|
82 | (1) |
|
|
|
83 | (4) |
|
|
|
87 | (22) |
|
|
|
87 | (1) |
|
6.2 The Making of Homi Bhabha |
|
|
88 | (3) |
|
6.3 Bhabha and the Antiparticle Hypothesis |
|
|
91 | (3) |
|
|
|
94 | (1) |
|
|
|
95 | (1) |
|
|
|
96 | (1) |
|
6.7 Balloons and Brainteasers |
|
|
97 | (3) |
|
|
|
100 | (2) |
|
|
|
102 | (2) |
|
|
|
104 | (1) |
|
|
|
105 | (2) |
|
|
|
107 | (2) |
|
|
|
109 | (10) |
|
|
|
109 | (2) |
|
|
|
111 | (3) |
|
|
|
114 | (2) |
|
7.4 The Curious After-Life of Biva Chowdhury |
|
|
116 | (3) |
|
8 The Growth and Spread of Particle Physics Research |
|
|
119 | (12) |
|
|
|
119 | (2) |
|
8.2 P.S. Gill and the Aligarh Group |
|
|
121 | (2) |
|
|
|
123 | (3) |
|
8.4 The Delhi University Group |
|
|
126 | (2) |
|
8.5 Alladi Ramakrishnan and MATSCIENCE |
|
|
128 | (3) |
|
9 Observations and Reflections |
|
|
131 | (6) |
| Bibliography |
|
137 | |
Dr. Sreerup Raychaudhuri is an elementary particle physicist with expertise in the theory of electroweak interactions, especially in the context of colliding-beam machines. He obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Calcutta in 1994 and followed this up by postdoctoral stints at TIFR and CERN. In 1999, he joined the faculty at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, where he taught till 2007. Subsequently, he moved to the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, where he is now a professor in the Department of Theoretical Physics. Apart from his research and teaching, Dr. Raychaudhuri has an enduring interest in history and, in particular, the history of Indian science. He has authored several articles on popular science and the history of science and lectured extensively on these subjects.
