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Satyendra Nath BoseThe Man Who Counted Light
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Quantum Revolution
The paper by Bose was the fourth and last of the revolutionary papers of the old quantum theory (the other three being, respectively, Planck, Einstein and Bohr). Abraham Pais, Subtle is the Lord
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Respected Sir...
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Thus began one of the most iconic correspondences in the history of modern physics. Satyendra Nath Bose (1894 to 1974), then an unknown, thirty year old mathematician working in the periphery of the British Empire as Reader at Dacca University (in what is now Dhaka, Bangladesh), sent the world famous Albert Einstein in Berlin Germany a letter. It was 1924, in the midst of revolutions in science and the birth of the quantum age in Europe. Accompanying the letter was a short, four page paper titled Planck's Law and the Light-Quantum Hypothesis, and boldly asking the great scientist's opinion, and even more boldly asking Einstein to have it published in the leading scientific journal of the day Zeitschrift für Physik. |
"Respected Sir" Bose's first letter to Einstein (1924)
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"A beautiful step forward" Einstein's reply to Bose (1924)
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"Plancks Gesetz und Lichtquantenhypothese" (German) by Bose, translated by Albert Einstein (1924)
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"Planck's Law and Light-Quantum Hypothesis" (English) by Bose, translated by publisher Springer (1924).
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Bose had derived the famous Planck's constant using a completely novel approach, a new way of counting particles, address the question of whether light is a particle of a wave. It was this approach that Einstein found revolutionary, calling it a "beautiful step forward", and readily translated the paper himself and had it published, commenting that he would extend Bose's ideas himself.
Another revolution in quantum theory, in a time of great change and discovery. Einstein wrote three additional papers based on the new Bose Statistics (also referred to as Bose-Einstein Statistics). Amongst Einstein's predictions was if particles obeying Bose Statistics (later eponymously called Bosons) were cooled to a low enough temperature, the particles would form a new type of matter eventually called the Bose Einstein Condensation (BEC) phenomenon. |
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Seventy years later in 1995, scientists working at the University of Colorado, Boulder and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), using advanced laser technology, created BEC and validated Einstein's prediction based on Bose's work. For their efforts of finding what the New York Times called the Holy Grail of Physics, the scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2001.
Since the time of Bose's work, and Einstein's extensions, much work has been done using Bose's theory, and many scientists have been awarded honors, including numerous Nobel Prize awards, and have made remarkable breakthroughs in the area of low temperature particle physics, super conductivity, quantum computing and more. Many of which will be discussed on this website! |
Falguni Sarkar Interview on S.N. Bose and the Higgs Boson (BBC). Originally broadcast in 2012.
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Films on Bose
Dear Master
A Film by Subha Das Mollick
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When a young Physics teacher from a fledgling university in a colonized nation received a postcard from Einstein in appreciation of his paper on black body radiation, it brought a sea change in the young man’s world and in the world of physics. Bose gave a theoretical foundation to Planck’s formula of black body radiation by applying Einstein’s light quantum hypothesis.
Later Einstein was critical of Bose’s statistical approach to matter energy interaction, but Bose remained unwavering in his reverence for Einstein. Dear Master traces this unique relationship in the history of science. |
Quantum Indians
A Film by Raja Choudhury
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In the early part of the 20th century and over 20 years before India’s independence, three remarkable Indian scientists revolutionized the worlds of Physics and Science. Satyendra Nath Bose, C.V.Raman and Meghnad Saha gave the world three remarkable discoveries and theories that would change Physics and India forever.
In this National Film Award (2014) winning film audiences will explore their individual biographies, their collective impact on the world of physics and their legacy in Indian science and world history. |
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Radio Broadcasts on Bose
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The Indian Particle Man, by Sharon Ann Holgate. Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 12 January 2005. Information about the program available on www.SharonAnnHolgate.com
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Talat-Farooq Awan interviews Falguni Sarkar, grandson of Professor Satyendra Nath Bose discoverer of the Boson. Originally broadcast 12 February 2023.
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South Asia Gallery
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Never accept an idea as long as you, yourself are not satisfied with its consistency and logical structure on which the concepts are based. 
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The Life(coming soon)
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The Science(coming soon)
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The Passion(coming soon)
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The Man Who Counted Light
SN Bose Project Guest Contributors
There are many many people, many of whom sadly have passed, whose life Bose has touched in many ways. While most did not put their stories on paper, many people have, and some still want to do so. The SN Bose Guest Writers Series showcases the stories, the science, and and the personal memories of the lives Bose had touched either directly or indirectly through the his legacy in science, but more so through a human connection that affected so many.
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Ranadhir MitraDr. Ranadhir Mitra, known as Gogol among most Bengalis who know him, was a college student when he became a friend of Satyen Bose and the Bose family. Here he shares memories of his youth and his interactions with "the great man". (Part 1)
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Contact UsIf you are a scientist, artist, writer, historian, musician or simply an admirer of Satyendra Nath Bose, and you have a story to share, advice to give or just want to share some encouragement, we want to hear from you!
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