Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Chandrasekhar worked on a wide variety of problems in physics during his lifetime, contributing to the contemporary understanding of
Chandrasekhar studied at Presidency College, Madras (now Chennai) and the University of Cambridge. A long-time professor at the University of Chicago, he did some of his studies at the Yerkes Observatory, and served as editor of The Astrophysical Journal from 1952 to 1971. He was on the faculty at Chicago from 1937 until his death in 1995 at the age of 84, and was the Morton D. Hull Distinguished Service Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics.[9]
Early life and education
Chandrasekhar was born in
Chandrasekhar was tutored at home until the age of 12.
University of Cambridge
In his first year at Cambridge, as a research student of Fowler, Chandrasekhar spent his time calculating mean
After receiving a bronze medal for his work on degenerate stars, in the summer of 1933, Chandrasekhar was awarded his PhD degree at Cambridge with a thesis among his four papers on rotating self-gravitating polytropes. On 9 October, he was elected to a Prize Fellowship at Trinity College for the period 1933–1937, becoming only the second Indian to receive a Trinity Fellowship after Srinivasa Ramanujan 16 years earlier. He had been so certain of failing to obtain the fellowship that he had already made arrangements to study under Milne that autumn at Oxford, even going to the extent of renting a flat there.[13]
During this time, Chandrasekhar became acquainted with British physicist Sir Arthur Eddington. Eddington took an interest in his work, but in January, 1935, gave a talk severely criticizing Chandrasekhar's work (see #Dispute with Eddington and Chandrasekhar–Eddington dispute).
Career and research
Early career
In 1935, Chandrasekhar was invited by the director of the Harvard Observatory,
Chandrasekhar remained at the University of Chicago for his entire career. He was promoted to associate professor in 1941 and to full professor two years later at the age of 33.[13] In 1946, when Princeton University offered Chandrasekhar a position vacated by Henry Norris Russell with a salary double that of Chicago's, Hutchins incremented his salary matching with that of Princeton's and persuaded Chandrasekhar to stay in Chicago. In 1952, he became Morton D. Hull Distinguished Service Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics and Enrico Fermi Institute, upon Enrico Fermi's invitation. In 1953, he and his wife, Lalitha Chandrasekhar, took American citizenship.[15]
After the Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research (LASR) was built by NASA in 1966 at the university, Chandrasekhar occupied one of the four corner offices on the second floor. (The other corners housed
Dispute with Eddington
After graduating from Cambridge, Chandrasekhar, who was in close contact with Arthur Eddington, presented a full solution to his stellar equation at the Royal Astronomical Society meeting in 1935. Eddington booked a talk right after Chandrasekhar, where he openly criticized Chandrasekhar's theory. This depressed Chandrasekhar and sparked a scientific dispute. Eddington refused to accept a limit for the mass of a star and was proposing an alternative model.[16]
Chandrasekhar sought support from prominent physicists like Léon Rosenfeld, Niels Bohr and Christian Møller who found Eddington's arguments lacking. The tension persisted through 1930s, as Eddington continued to openly criticize Chandrasekhar during meetings and the two compared each other's theories in publications. Chandrasekhar ultimately completed his theory of white dwarfs in 1939, receiving praise from others in the field. Eddington died in 1944, and despite their disagreements, Chandrasekhar continued to state that he admired Eddington and considered him a friend.[16]
World War II
During World War II, Chandrasekhar worked at the
Philosophy of systematization
He wrote that his scientific research was motivated by his desire to participate in the progress of different subjects in science to the best of his ability, and that the prime motive underlying his work was systematization. "What a scientist tries to do essentially is to select a certain domain, a certain aspect, or a certain detail, and see if that takes its appropriate place in a general scheme which has form and coherence; and, if not, to seek further information which would help him to do that".[20]
Chandrasekhar developed a unique style of mastering several fields of physics and astrophysics; consequently, his working life can be divided into distinct periods. He would exhaustively study a specific area, publish several papers in it and then write a book summarizing the major concepts in the field. He would then move on to another field for the next decade and repeat the pattern. Thus he studied
Work with students
Chandra worked closely with his students and expressed pride in the fact that over a 50-year period (from roughly 1930 to 1980), the average age of his co-author collaborators had remained the same, at around 30. He insisted that students address him as "Prof. Chandrasekhar" until they received their PhD degree, after which time they (as other colleagues) were encouraged to address him as "Chandra". When Chandrasekhar was working at the Yerkes Observatory in 1940s, he would drive 150 miles (240 km) to and from every weekend to teach a course at the University of Chicago. Two of the students who took the course,
Other activities
From 1952 to 1971 Chandrasekhar was editor of The Astrophysical Journal.[22] When Eugene Parker submitted a paper on his discovery of solar wind in 1957, two eminent reviewers rejected the paper. However, since Chandra as an editor could not find any mathematical flaws in Parker's work, he went ahead and published the paper in 1958.[23]
During the years 1990 to 1995, Chandrasekhar worked on a project devoted to explaining the detailed geometric arguments in Sir
Chandrasekhar also worked on collision of gravitational waves,[24] and algebraically special perturbations.[25]
Personal life
Chandrasekhar was the nephew of C. V. Raman, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930.
Chandrasekhar married Lalitha Doraiswamy in September 1936. He met her as a fellow student at
Chandrasekhar died of a heart attack at the University of Chicago Hospital in 1995, having survived a prior heart attack in 1975.[21] He was survived by his wife, who died on 2 September 2013 at the age of 102.[28] She was a serious student of literature and western classical music.[26]
Once when involved in a discussion about the Bhagavad Gita, Chandrasekhar said: "I should like to preface my remarks with a personal statement in order that my later remarks will not be misunderstood. I consider myself an atheist".[29] This was also confirmed many times in his other talks. Kameshwar C. Wali quoted him saying: “I am not religious in any sense; in fact, I consider myself an atheist.”[30] In an interview with Kevin Krisciunas at the University of Chicago, on 6 October 1987, Chandrasekhar commented: "Of course, he (Otto Struve) knew I was an atheist, and he never brought up the subject with me".[31]
Awards, honours and legacy
Nobel prize
Chandrasekhar was awarded half of the
Other awards and honors
- Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1944[1]
- American Philosophical Society, Member (1945)[32]
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Member (1946)[33]
- Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1949)[34]
- Bruce Medal (1952)[35]
- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1953)[36]
- United States National Academy of Sciences, Member (1955)[37]
- Rumford Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1957)[38]
- National Medal of Science, USA (1966)[39]
- Padma Vibhushan (1968)
- National Academy of Sciences (1971)[40]
- Marian Smoluchowski Medal (1973)
- Copley Medal of the Royal Society (1984)
- Gordon J. Laing Award (1989)
- Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (1990)[41]
- Jansky Lectureship before the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
- Humboldt Prize[when?]
Legacy
Chandrasekhar's most notable work is on the
Chandrasekhar supervised 45 PhD students.[42] After his death, his wife Lalitha Chandrasekhar made a gift of his Nobel Prize money to the University of Chicago towards the establishment of the Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Memorial Fellowship. First awarded in the year 2000, this fellowship is given annually to an outstanding applicant to graduate school in the PhD programs of the department of physics or the department of astronomy and astrophysics.[43] S. Chandrasekhar Prize of Plasma Physics is an award given by Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies (AAPS) to outstanding plasma physicists, started in the year 2014.[44]
The Chandra Astrophysics Institute (CAI) is a program offered for high school students who are interested in astrophysics mentored by
In 2010, on account of Chandra's 100th birthday,
Publications
Books
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1958) [1939]. An Introduction to the Study of Stellar Structure. New York: Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-60413-8.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (2005) [1942]. Principles of Stellar Dynamics. New York: Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-44273-0.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1960) [1950]. Radiative Transfer. New York: Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-60590-6.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1975) [1960]. Plasma Physics. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-10084-5.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1981) [1961]. Hydrodynamic and Hydromagnetic Stability. New York: Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-64071-6.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1987) [1969]. Ellipsoidal Figures of Equilibrium. New York: Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-65258-0.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1998) [1983]. The Mathematical Theory of Black Holes. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-850370-5.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1983) [1983]. Eddington: The Most Distinguished Astrophysicist of His Time. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521257466.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1990) [1987]. Truth and Beauty. Aesthetics and Motivations in Science. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-10087-6.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1995). Newton's Principia for the Common Reader. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-851744-3.
- Spiegel, E.A. (2011) [1954]. The Theory of Turbulence : Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar's 1954 Lectures. Netherlands: Springer. ISBN 978-94-007-0117-5.
Notes
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1939). "The Dynamics of Stellar Systems. I–VIII". The Astrophysical Journal. 90 (1): 1–154. ISSN 0004-637X.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1943). "Stochastic Problems in Physics and Astronomy". Reviews of Modern Physics. 15 (1): 1–89. ISSN 0034-6861.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1993). Classical general relativity. Royal Society.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1979). The Role of General Relativity: Retrospect and Prospect. Proc. IAU Meeting.[52]
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1943). New methods in stellar dynamics. New York Academy of Sciences.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1954). "The illumination and polarization of the sunlit sky on Rayleigh scattering". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 44 (6). American Philosophical Society: 643–728. JSTOR 1005777.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1983). "On Stars, their evolution and their stability, Nobel lecture". Reviews of Modern Physics. 56 (2). Stockholm: Nobel Foundation: 137–147. .
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1981). New horizons of human knowledge: a series of public talks given at Unesco. Unesco Press.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1975). "Shakespeare, Newton, and Beethoven: Or, Patterns of Creativity". Current Science. 70 (9). University of Chicago: 810–822. JSTOR 24099932.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (July 1973). "P.A.M. Dirac on his seventieth birthday". Contemporary Physics. 14 (4): 389–394. ISSN 0010-7514.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1947). Heywood, Robert B. (ed.). The Works of the Mind:The Scientist. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 159–179. OCLC 752682744.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1995). Reminiscences and discoveries on Ramanujan's bust. Royal Society. ASIN B001B12NJ8.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1990). How one may explore the physical content of the general theory of relativity. American Mathematical Society. ASIN B001B10QTM.
Journals
Chandrasekhar published around 380 papers
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1989). Selected Papers, Vol 1, Stellar structure and stellar atmospheres. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226100890.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1989). Selected Papers, Vol 2, Radiative transfer and negative ion of hydrogen. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226100920.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1989). Selected Papers, Vol 3, Stochastic, statistical and hydromagnetic problems in Physics and Astronomy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226100944.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1989). Selected Papers, Vol 4, Plasma Physics, Hydrodynamic and Hydromagnetic stability, and applications of the Tensor-Virial theorem. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226100975.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1990). Selected Papers, Vol 5, Relativistic Astrophysics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226100982.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1991). Selected Papers, Vol 6, The Mathematical Theory of Black Holes and of Colliding Plane Waves. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226101019.
- Chandrasekhar, S. (1997). Selected Papers, Vol 7, The non-radial oscillations of star in General Relativity and other writings. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226101040.
Books and articles about Chandrasekhar
- Miller, Arthur I. (2005). Empire of the Stars: Friendship, Obsession, and Betrayal in the Quest for Black Holes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-618-34151-1.
- ISBN 978-0-226-76996-7.
- S2CID 119807977. Archived from the original(PDF) on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- S2CID 122374065.
- ISBN 978-0-226-87054-0.
- Wali, Kameshwar C., ed. (1997). Chandrasekhar: The Man Behind the Legend – Chandra Remembered. London: imperial College Press. ISBN 978-1-86094-038-5.
- Wali, Kameshwar C., ed. (2001). A Quest For Perspectives. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Ptd Ltd. ISBN 978-1-86094-201-3.
- Wali, Kameshwar C., ed. (2020). S Chandrasekhar: Selected Correspondence and Conversations. World Scientific Publishing Co. Ptd Ltd. ISBN 978-9811208324.
- Wignesan, T., ed. (2004). "The Man who Dwarfed the Stars". The Asianists' Asia. ISSN 1298-0358.
- Venkataraman, G. (1992). Chandrasekhar and His Limit. Hyderabad, India: Universities Press. ISBN 978-81-7371-035-3.
- Saikia, D J.; et al., eds. (2011). Fluid flows to Black Holes: A tribute to S Chandrasekhar on his birth centenary. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Ptd Ltd. ISBN 978-981-4299-57-2.
- Ramnath, Radhika, ed. (2012). S. Chandrasekhar: Man of Science. Harpercollins. ASIN B00C3EWIME.
- Alic, Kameshwar C (2011). Kameshwar, C Wali (ed.). A Scientific Autobiography: S Chandrasekhar. A Scientific Autobiography: S Chandrasekhar. Edited by K C Wali. Published by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. ISBN 978-981-4299-57-2.
- Salwi, Dilip, ed. (2004). S. Chandrasekhar: The scholar scientist. Rupa. ISBN 978-8129104915.
- Pandey, Rakesh Kumar, ed. (2017). Chandrasekhar Limit: Size of White Dwarfs. Lap Lambert Academic Publishing. ISBN 978-3330317666.
References
- ^ S2CID 58736242.
- ^ "Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar – The Mathematics Genealogy Project". www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu.
- ^ "Great Indians: Professor Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar" – via NDTV.
- JSTOR 3152289. (Registration or subscription required)
- ^ Vishveshwara, C.V. (25 April 2000). "Leaves from an unwritten diary: S. Chandrasekhar, Reminiscences and Reflections" (PDF). Current Science. 78 (8): 1025–1033.
- ISSN 0036-8733.
- ISSN 0066-4189.
- ^ a b c O'Connor, J. J.; Robertson, E. F. "Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar". Biographies. School of Mathematics and Statistics University of St Andrews, Scotland. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ "Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar". starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ "Who was S Chandrasekhar?". The Indian Express. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ "Subramanyan Chandrasekhar Biographical". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
- ^ a b "S Chandrasekhar: Why Google honours him". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Trehan, Surindar Kumar (1995). "Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar 1910–1995" (PDF). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy. 23: 101–119.
- ISBN 978-0-309-05788-2.
- ^ "S Chandrashekhar, India's great astrophysicist: Why Google Doodle is celebrating the Nobel prize winner". The Financial Express. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ ISSN 0031-9228.
- ^ Chandrasekhar, S. (1943). On the conditions for the existence of three shock waves (Report). Ballistic Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground. 367.
- ^ Chandrasekhar, S. (1943). On the Determination of the Velocity of a Projectile from the Beat Waves Produced by Interference with the Waves of Modified Frequency Reflected from the Projectile (Report). Ballistic Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground. 365.
- ^ Chandrasekhar, S. (1943). Optimum Height for the Bursting of a 105mm Shell (PDF) (Report). Army Ballistic Research Lab Aberdeen Procing Ground MD. BRL-MR-139. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 November 2019.
- ^ The Works of the Mind, p.176, edited by Robert B. Heywood, University of Chicago Press, 1947.
- ^ )
- ISSN 0004-637X.
- ISSN 0004-637X.
- S2CID 120942390.
- S2CID 122585164.
- ^ )
- ^ Sullivan, Walter (22 August 1995). "Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, 84, Is Dead; Noble Laureate Uncovered 'White Dwarfs'". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
- ^ "Nobel laureate's wife Lalitha Chandrasekhar dies at 102". The Hindu. 7 September 2013.
- ISBN 978-1860940385
- ISBN 9780226870557.
SC: I am not religious in any sense; in fact, I consider myself an atheist.
- ^ "Interview with Dr. S. Chandrasekhar". American Institute of Physics. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org.
- ^ "Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 9 February 2023.
- ^ "Grants, Prizes and Awards". American Astronomical Society. Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
- ^ "Past Winners of the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal". Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
- ^ "Winners of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society". Royal Astronomical Society. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
- ^ "S. Chandrasekhar". www.nasonline.org.
- ^ "Past Recipients of the Rumford Prize". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
- ^ "The President's National Medal of Science: Recipient Details – NSF – National Science Foundation". www.nsf.gov.
- ^ "Henry Draper Medal". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
- American Academy of Achievement.
- S2CID 119945333.
- ^ "Academics | Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics | The University of Chicago". astrophysics.uchicago.edu.
- ^ "prizeaward". aappsdpp.org.
- ^ Hartman, Mark; Ashton, Peter; Porro, Irene; Ahmed, Shakib; Kol, Simba. "Chandra Astrophysics Institute". MIT OpenCourseWare. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ "The Chandra Astrophysics Institute – ChandraBlog – Fresh Chandra News". chandra.harvard.edu.
- ^ "S. Chandrasekhar's 107th Birthday" – via www.google.com.
- ^ Rajamanickam Antonimuthu (18 October 2017). "S. Chandrasekhar Google Doodle". Archived from the original on 11 December 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "KPTC Event Video – Colloquia". kersten.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ "The 100th anniversary of the birth of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar: Chandrasekhar Centennial Symposium 2010 – Chicago". VideoLectures – VideoLectures.NET. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ "NSF Award Search: Award#1039863 – Chandrasekhar Centennial Symposium; Chicago, IL; October 16–17, 2010". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ISSN 1539-2996.
- Bibcode:1996JApA...17..269C. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- hdl:10821/487.
- S2CID 120769457.
Further reading
- S2CID 119668926.
- Parker, E. N. (1997). "Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. 1910-1995" (PDF). Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences. 72: 28–49.
- Obituaries
- Devorkin, David H. (1 January 1996). "Obituary: Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, 1910-1995". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 28 (4): 1448. Bibcode:1996BAAS...28.1448D.
- McCrea, W. (1 April 1996). "Obituary: Subramanyan Chandrasekhar". The Observatory. 116: 121–124. ISSN 0029-7704.
- Comment: Cronin, J. W. (1 February 1998). "Subramanyan Chandrasekhar". The Observatory. 118: 24. ISSN 0029-7704.
- Comment: Cronin, J. W. (1 February 1998). "Subramanyan Chandrasekhar". The Observatory. 118: 24.
- Garstang, R. H. (1 February 1997). "Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-1995)". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 109: 73–77. S2CID 123095503.
- Spruit, H. C. (1 March 1996). "A 'curve of growth' of astronomers on the Citation Index". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. 37: 1–9. ISSN 0035-8738.
External links
- Great Indians: Professor Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar – Video of Chandra's last interview at Chicago.
- Audio – Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar(1988) The founding of general relativity and its excellence.
- Audio – Cain/Gay (2010) Astronomy Cast Chandrasekhar.
- National Academy of Sciences biography
- Harvard's site on Chandrasekhar
- Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
- Subramaniam Chandrashekhar
- Bruce Medal page
- Oral History interview transcript with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar on 17 May 1977, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives - Session I
- Oral History interview transcript with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar on 18 May 1977, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives - Session II
- Oral History interview transcript with Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar on 31 October 1977, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives - Session III
- Oral History interview transcript for Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar on 6 October 1987, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives
- Mathematics Genealogy Project
- Concordia University Honorary Degree Citation, June 1988, Concordia University Records Management and Archives
- Free PDF of Radiative Transfer on Archive.org
- Guide to the Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Papers 1913-2011 at the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
- Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar on Nobelprize.org