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About Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, a towering figure in astrophysics, was born on October 19, 1910, in Lahore, British India (now Pakistan). Renowned for his groundbreaking work on the structure and evolution of stars, Chandrasekhar’s contributions revolutionized our understanding of stellar dynamics and black holes. His pioneering theory on the evolution of massive stars led to the concept of Chandrasekhar limit, critical in understanding the fate of massive stars. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983, his legacy continues to inspire generations of scientists worldwide.
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Early Life and Education
Birth and Family Background
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was born on October 19, 1910 in Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan) to a Tamil family. His parents were Sita Balakrishnan (1891-1931) and Chandrasekhara Subrahmanya Ayyar (1885-1960), who was stationed in Lahore as the Deputy Auditor General of the Northwestern Railways at the time of Chandrasekhar’s birth.
Chandrasekhar was the third child and first son in a family of four sons and six daughters. His paternal uncle was the Indian physicist and Nobel laureate Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman. His mother was a highly intellectual woman who had translated Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” into Tamil and was credited with arousing Chandrasekhar’s intellectual curiosity at an early age.
The family moved from Lahore to Allahabad in 1916 and finally settled in Madras (now Chennai) in 1918, where Chandrasekhar attended Hindu High School and later Presidency College, Madras.
Early Interest in Science and Mathematics
- Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, known as “Chandra”, displayed an early aptitude and interest in science and mathematics from a young age:
- He was encouraged by his mother to pursue a scientific career, rather than following his father into government service.
- As a child, Chandra was taught by private tutors and was able to follow his intellectual interests, rather than attending traditional schooling until age 11.
- Chandra was regarded as a mathematics prodigy, entering Presidency College in Madras at the young age of 15.
- During his undergraduate studies, Chandra gravitated towards physics and published his first research paper while still an undergraduate, which was submitted to the Proceedings of the Royal Society by his mentor Ralph Fowler.
- Chandra spent a summer working in the lab of his uncle, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist C.V. Raman, though he found experimental physics was not his forte. However, this experience introduced him to the work of theorists like Arnol Sommerfeld who were transforming physics through quantum mechanics.
- Chandra was offered a prestigious government scholarship to study in England, where he went on to earn his PhD at Cambridge University under Fowler’s supervision.
Education in India (Presidency College, Madras)
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar attended Presidency College in Madras (now Chennai) from 1925 to 1930, where he completed his undergraduate degree in physics. He was tutored at home until the age of 12, with his father teaching him mathematics and physics, and his mother teaching him Tamil.
Chandrasekhar joined Presidency College in 1925 and obtained his bachelor’s degree, BSc (Hon.), in physics in June 1930. During his time at Presidency College, he wrote his first paper, “The Compton Scattering and the New Statistics”, in 1929 after being inspired by a lecture by Arnold Sommerfeld.
After completing his undergraduate studies at Presidency College, Chandrasekhar was awarded a Government of India scholarship to pursue graduate studies at the University of Cambridge, where he was admitted to Trinity College in July 1930.
After completing their early education, the individual attended Presidency College in Madras, one of the most prestigious institutions in India at the time. There, they continued to excel academically, graduating at the top of their class with a degree in physics.
Scholarship to Cambridge University
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was awarded a Government of India scholarship to pursue graduate studies at the University of Cambridge in England. This scholarship enabled him to further his education in theoretical physics, which would later lead to significant contributions to the field of astrophysics, including the discovery of the Chandrasekhar limit and the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983.
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Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Career
In 1936, Chandrasekhar was invited to lecture at Harvard for a few months. During this time, Otto Struve, the director of the University of Chicago’s Yerkes Observatory, offered him a position as a research associate, with the promise of a tenure-track appointment after a year. Chandrasekhar agreed and settled in the United States, joining the faculty at the University of Chicago in 1937, where he remained until his death in 1995
Contributions to Stellar Structure, Radiative Transfer, and Stellar Dynamics
Chandrasekhar’s early research focused on the structure and evolution of stars, particularly white dwarfs. In the early 1930s, he determined that there is an upper limit to the mass of a white dwarf star, now known as the Chandrasekhar limit. This discovery showed that stars much more massive than the Sun must either explode or form black holes.
Chandrasekhar also made significant contributions to the study of radiative transfer in stellar atmospheres and convection on the solar surface. His work on stellar dynamics explored the behavior of stars within a galaxy
Over the course of his career, Chandrasekhar expanded his research into other areas, including hydrodynamic and hydromagnetic stability, the figures of equilibrium of rotating masses of fluid, and the mathematical theory of black holes.
Contributions of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Chandrasekhar Limit
Chandrasekhar determined that a star with a mass more than 1.44 times that of the Sun does not form a white dwarf but instead continues to collapse, blows off its gaseous envelope in a supernova explosion, and becomes a neutron star. An even more massive star continues to collapse and becomes a black hole. These calculations, known as the Chandrasekhar limit, contributed to the eventual understanding of supernovas, neutron stars, and black holes.
Stellar Structure and Evolution
Starting in the 1930s, Chandrasekhar developed theories for the evolution that stars go through. He demonstrated how stars of a certain size collapse into a white dwarf, a compact, brilliant star, when their hydrogen fuel runs out. His early research on the structure and evolution of stars played a significant role in winning the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics, which he shared with William Fowler.
Other Contributions
Chandrasekhar worked on a wide variety of problems in physics during his lifetime, contributing to the contemporary understanding of stellar structure, white dwarfs, stellar dynamics, stochastic process, radiative transfer, the quantum theory of the hydrogen anion, hydrodynamic and hydromagnetic stability, turbulence, equilibrium and the stability of ellipsoidal figures of equilibrium, general relativity, mathematical theory of black holes and theory of colliding gravitational waves.
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Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Awards and Honours
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar earned numerous prestigious awards and honors throughout his career:
Nobel Prize in Physics (1983)
Chandrasekhar was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics, which he shared with William Alfred Fowler, “for his theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars”. His work on the Chandrasekhar limit, which describes the maximum mass of a white dwarf star, was a key contribution that led to the currently accepted theory on the later evolutionary stages of massive stars.
Copley Medal (1984)
Chandrasekhar was awarded the Copley Medal, the highest honor of the Royal Society, in 1984. The Copley Medal is awarded for outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science.
Other Major Awards
- Fellow of the Royal Society (1944)
- Henry Norris Russell Lectureship (1949)
- Bruce Medal (1952)
- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1953)
- National Medal of Science awarded by President Lyndon Johnson (1967)
- Henry Draper Medal (1971)
Namesakes
In recognition of his contributions, several things have been named after Chandrasekhar:
- The Chandra X-ray Observatory, one of NASA’s “Great Observatories”, was named after him following a naming contest in 1999.
- The Chandrasekhar number, an important dimensionless number in magnetohydrodynamics, bears his name.
- The asteroid 1958 Chandra is also named after Chandrasekhar.
S Chandrasekhar Limit and Controversy
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, an Indian astrophysicist, made a groundbreaking discovery in the early 20th century regarding the maximum mass of a white dwarf star. This limit, now known as the Chandrasekhar limit, states that a white dwarf star cannot exceed 1.4 times the mass of the Sun, or it will collapse under its own gravity.
Chandrasekhar arrived at this conclusion during a long sea voyage from India to England in 1930, at the age of 19. He applied the principles of quantum mechanics and deduced that the atoms within a white dwarf star are subject to counteracting forces. Chandrasekhar determined that if the star exceeded a certain mass, the force of gravity would overwhelm these opposing forces, causing the white dwarf to collapse.
At a meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1935, Eddington openly criticized and mocked Chandrasekhar’s models, stating that the star “has to go on radiating and radiating and contracting and contracting until, I suppose, it gets to a few kilometers’ radius, when gravity becomes strong enough to hold the radiation and the star can at last have peace.” Eddington believed that there should be “a law of Nature to prevent a star from behaving in this absurd way.
In 1983, Chandrasekhar was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, alongside William Alfred Fowler, for their “theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars.” The Chandrasekhar limit became a crucial concept for understanding the fate of massive stars and the formation of black holes.
Unknown Facts About Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
- Early Genius: Chandrasekhar was a child prodigy and published his first paper at the age of 19 while still a student.
- Chandrasekhar Limit: He discovered the Chandrasekhar Limit, which states that a star of more than 1.4 times the mass of the sun cannot become a white dwarf.
- Nobel Prize: He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for his theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of stars.
- Royalty Connections: He was the nephew of C.V. Raman, another Nobel laureate in Physics.
- Diverse Interests: Besides astrophysics, he made significant contributions to other fields including fluid dynamics, quantum theory, and general relativity.
- Teaching Legacy: He was a dedicated teacher and mentored over fifty Ph.D. students during his career.
- Multilingual Scholar: Chandrasekhar was fluent in several languages, including Tamil, English, and French.
- Work Ethic: Known for his rigorous work ethic, he worked diligently every day, including weekends.
- Humility: Despite his numerous accolades, he was known for his modesty and often downplayed his achievements.
- Autobiographical Notes: He wrote an autobiography, “Truth and Beauty: Aesthetics and Motivations in Science,” where he discussed his love for science and literature.
FAQs on Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Biography
What are the details about Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar?
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was an Indian-American astrophysicist who made significant contributions to the understanding of stellar structure, evolution, and black holes. He was born in Lahore, British India (now Pakistan) and later became a U.S. citizen. Chandrasekhar won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983 for his work on the physical processes governing the structure and evolution of stars.
Did Chandrasekhar discover black holes?
Who discovered black holes in India?
There is no single Indian scientist credited with the discovery of black holes. The concept of black holes was developed through the work of many physicists and astronomers around the world, including Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. Chandrasekhar's work on the limits of white dwarf stars and the fate of massive stars was a key contribution to the understanding of black holes, but he did not discover them himself.
Did Chandrasekhar win Nobel Prize?
Did Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar have children?
Yes, Chandrasekhar had a family. He married Lalitha Doraiswamy in 1936 and they had two children together - a son and a daughter. However, the specific names and details about his children are not widely reported in the available biographical information. Chandrasekhar was known to be a devoted family man in addition to his distinguished scientific career.
