The Google Doodle on June 4 celebrated Indian mathematician and physicist Satyendra Nath Bose. It was on this day in 1924 that he sent his quantum formulations to the legendary Albert Einstein, who immediately recognised their significance.
The formulations, documented in a paper titled Planck’s Law and the Hypothesis of Light Quanta, were applied by Einstein to a range of phenomena.
Bose’s paper came to be recognised as one of the most important findings in quantum theory. The Indian government accorded him the honour of National Professor -- the highest for scholars in India. He was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan -- one of the top civilian honours in the country.
Bose, who was born in Kolkata in 1894, made it a habit early on to solve arithmetic problems -- which his father would leave him before heading off to work every day.
At 15, Bose began studying science at the Presidency College. He then moved to University of Calcutta to pursue Master’s in Applied Mathematics at the University of Calcutta. He graduated top of his class in both the courses and established a reputation in academia.
Later on, Bose became a physics lecturer. It was while teaching Planck’s radiation formula to postgraduate students that he began experimenting with his own theories. That served as the basis of his paper.
Bose’s work led to many scientific breakthroughs, including the discovery of the particle accelerator and the God particle, Google said in a note accompanying the doodle. In his honour, any particle that conforms with his statistics is now known as boson.
The physicist led institutions like the National Institute of Science, Indian Science Congress, Indian Physical Society and the Indian Statistical Institute.
He died in 1974.
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