Subramanyan Chandrasekhar - an Astrophysicist Par Excellence

Chandra X-ray telescope (named after Chandrasekhar)

People who admire Chandra get goose-pimples to read an article like this. I am one of such admirers of Chandra.

Well written Dr. Gill! Thank you.

The South Indians grow up to be smart scholars – the North Indians grow up to be Prime Ministers – i.e., good for nothing politicians! (But at least they are not lawyers, thank God!)

I think I missed out big time!

I wish I were born a South Indian – then I could leap over tall mountains, perhaps, like Hanumana – or at least I could solve complicated partial differential equations as a pastime between those bucketfuls of coffee (tea having become passé), I could kick Schodinger’s equations in the chin, hit Planck’s constant on a constant basis, and pull all kinds of other peculiarly South Indian tricks – perhaps driving the Gill up the hill! I could impress the world with my very distinct style of conversation, perhaps – making the Laloo eat his heart out! I think the Nobel committee could be so impressed with my accent that they would fork over that Nobel prize in no time – just to ensure I don’t start talking again!

Therefore, in my next life, I wish to be born a South Indian – except of the Harry Moe kind, of course! And save me O Lord from that sambar and rasam, not to mention that yogurt which quenches all morning fires!

(And I am not even going to mention South Indian dames! That may be considered disrespectful on this board – not to mention the fact that it would make the vast majorities of chowkies VERY nostalgic!)

Anyway, tomorrow morning in good old Chandra`s memory, I shall make coffee, not tea. And if I can find him, perhaps I will go beat up on that Eddington guy! If I can not, perhaps I will have to settle for Yasser or some other chowk donkey – unless Dr. Gill volunteers to fill in (good man!)

Ref bjkumar #3

[The South Indians grow up to be smart scholars – the North Indians grow up to be Prime Ministers – i.e., good for nothing politicians!]

The best Prime Minister India had was P V Narasimha Rao, a Southie, who managed to last a full term despite his minority status in Parliament. And pushed through vast amount of economic reforms.

I do agree North Indians are good for nothing!

[And I am not even going to mention South Indian dames!]

You guys were drooling over Vyjayanthimala, Padmini, Rekha and Hema Malini, to mention just a few.

Srinivasa Ramanujan, Sir CV Raman, Subramanian Chandrashekhar, Homi Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai and APJ Abdul Kalam are the shining examples of folks who rose above tremendous odds to make a mark for themselves and their motherland. Thanks Gill Sahib for bringing to us this story.

Excellent article. Everyone with aptitude in Physics must read it. It is a lot of good information in a nutshell. I had read about Chandra but not in such a good detail before, along with other great scientists from India like M.N. Saha, Homi Bhabha, C.V. Raman, Abus Salam just to mention a few. Dr. Saha, in his book ‘Treatise on Heat’ mentions Chandra several times. Thanks Akram (Gill) for writing this article

Mohammad: You say, ``...During all their discussions, while Chandrasekhar had been spewing out his figures, Eddington had never mentioned any work of his own in this area. It seemed an incredible breach of faith, yet Eddington offered no apology or explanation when the two men saw each other in the dining hall Thursday evening……. ``

I am glad you did not miss this observation! In another biographical book, The author was direct and pointed. He said that Eddington even though brilliant was not above stealing Chandrashekhar`s ideas to some extent and incorporating in his own paper. No credit was given to Chandrashekhar at all! Many European scientists, in those days did indeed displayed good deal of sense of superiority above non-Europeans. Eddington was bossy and a snob .

I hope all these subtle `racist` ideas must have disappeared when you ewere there!

I have come across another example where famous scientist Heisenberg behaved similarly to non-European people and Asian history.

Re: # 3
BJKUMAR: You want to be what,``... Therefore, in my next life, I wish to be born a South Indian ..``

You can never be one even in your next ten rebirths man unless you know how to chew Pan, develop a potbelly and able to spit red saliva for atleat 5 feet.

Kamath

Re: # 4
Harimau: You left out Jaya Lalitha next to Vyjayanthimala! Is it deliberate?

#8 by kamath

You can never be one even in your next ten rebirths man unless you know how to chew Pan, develop a potbelly and able to spit red saliva for atleat 5 feet.

If this is what is required to be born a South Indian, then Beej bhai is eminently qualified. After all, I understand he is from Bihar, where even new born infants can pull off these three things :-)

Re:kamath#8

[...You can never be one even in your next ten rebirths man unless you know how to chew Pan, develop a potbelly and able to spit red saliva for atleat 5 feet. ...]

Well, well, well....Looks like we have the start of a North-South food fight here.

To add fuel to the fire :-), my favorite South Indian is Mehmood, the Masterji from the movie- Padosan. The way he wears his dhoti, his shaven head with a choti, his ``Ai Ai Yo..Devi!!`` to the heroine and his overall Southie accent and persona was just hilarious. He he!!

Dr. Gill,

I became curious so I looked up on Dr. Chandra and would like to point out the following minor details (from websites):

(1) The accurate name appears to have been Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.

(2) His father, Chandrasekhara Subrahmanyan Ayyar was an officer in Government Service in the Indian Audits and Accounts Department.

(3) C.V. Raman was the younger brother of Dr. Chandra’s father.

(4) Lalitha Doraiswamy, his wife, had been Dr. Chandra’s junior at the Presidency College in Madras. They were married September 11, 1936.

(5) Immigration laws being what they were back in the 1930’s – there appears to have been no quota for an Indian to immigrate to USA as a scientist – so he got his original visa to US as a missionary! (I suppose the immigration lawyers were as wily back then as now.)

(6) His mother Sitalakshmi had only a few years of formal education, but was a remarkable intellectually gifted lady who translated Ibsen and Tolstoy into Tamil. The dad, who never wanted Chandra to leave India and never reconciled on that issue, at the time wished him to join the Civil Service, but the mom encouraged him to pursue his interests. Later, Sitalakshmi was terminally ill when he got his scholarship and it was clear that if Chandra went to England, he would not see her again. It was Sitalakshmi who decided the issue by declaring that Chandra was born for the world and not just for her.

(7) He had some difficult moments at the University on account of his skin color. The Chancellor Hutchins was very supportive, which helped. In 1946, Princeton offered to hire him at double his then salary. Hutchins matched the Princeton salary. Chandra declined the Princeton offer and Hutchins remarked on more than one occasion that acquiring Chandra for the University of Chicago was one of his major accomplishments as chancellor.

(8) Chandra`s book “Truth and Beauty” (1987) shows an entirely different side of his thinking. It includes his Ryerson Lecture “Shakespeare, Newton, and Beethoven” in which he explored and compared the motivations and feelings involved in the creation of science and art.

Dr. Gill,

Thanks for that interesting writeup. Biographies of scientists are always very interesting as they overcome so many odds to prove thier theory. It is especially awesome when these scientists are from non-western world as they have to cross additional barriers.

#12 bj. Thanks for these tidbits as weel...

BJ,

Dont take the sarcasm of our Southies to heart.

Many forget that Buddha and Asoka the Great were Biharis (Mouryas for that matter).

I still wonder why Bihar got this bad name?

They ruled India with distinction and gave a religion (Buddhism) that traverses the East & was less controversial.

There is a biography of Prof. Chandrasekhar by another astrophysicist of indian origin - Chandra by Kameshwar Wali. It`s an interesting book - not the best biography but deals with a lot of physics issues. [Review from Amazon - ...astrophysicist whose major contributions were recognized very belatedly with the award of a recent Nobel Prize in physics. His style of work has been unusual in that he has concentrated on deep study of several topics that were not necessarily fashionable, yet his work on them is now regarded as ``classic.`` Although this biography frequently alludes to Chandra`s scientific contributions, much is also said about his personal life and struggles. Wali, like Chandra, is a physicist of Indian birth now working in the United States, and thus he is especially well-qualified to describe Chandra`s origins and education in India, his years at Trinity College, Cambridge, and finally his long career at the University of Chicago. The scientific details are mostly nontechnical, thus rendering the book accessible to interested lay people as well as professional scientists. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries.
- Jack W. Weigel, Univ. of Michigan Lib., Ann Arbor]
An interesting approach that Prof. Chandrasekhar had - he wrote books on diverse topics that became popular - he would write a book as a prelude to entering a new field! Perhaps partly because of this, and also because he was reputed to be an excellent and dedicated teacher, his books are lucid and easy to comprehend.
His review ``Stochastic Processes in Physics and Astronomy`` is one of the most widely cited scientific papers, and is popular even among a section of biologists.
Prof. Chandrasekhar did not get along well with his uncle C.V. Raman, discoverer of the Raman Effect, and also a physics nobel winner. It was widely felt in india that Prof. Krishnan should have been recognized as the co-discoverer of the ``Raman`` Effect, a view that Prof. Chandrasekhar apparently was in agreement with.

#3 Bihar has produced some well-known mathematicians...

Re: # 14
You are right. One should have sense of humour to survive! So,`` ...Dont take the sarcasm of our Southies to heart. Many forget that Buddha and Asoka the Great were Biharis (Mouryas for that matter). ..``

BTW Gautama Buddha was born in Lumbini in present day Nepal. So Nepalis have a claim on him first and possibly a `Gurkha` !!!!

Nowadays Railwayminister Lallu has really taken over Emperor Ashoka!