Meghnad Saha

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Meghnad Saha
Meghnad Saha in Berlin
Born	6 October 1893 Shaoratoli, Dhaka, Bengal, British India
Died	16 February 1956 (aged 62) Delhi, India
Residence	India
Nationality	Indian
Fields	Physics and Mathematics
Institutions	Allahabad University University of Calcutta Imperial College London Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science
Alma mater	Dhaka College University of Calcutta
Known for	Thermal ionisation Saha ionization equation

Meghnad Saha FRS (October 6, 1893 – February 16, 1956) was an Indian astrophysicist best known for his development of the Saha equation, used to describe chemical and physical conditions in stars.

Biography [edit]

Meghnad Saha was born in Shaoratoli village near Dhaka (in present Bangladesh). Son of Jagannath Saha, Meghnad Saha belonged to a poor family and struggled to rise in life. He had his initial schooling at Dhaka Collegiate School, and later moved to Dhaka College. He was also a student at thePresidency College, Kolkata; a professor at Allahabad University from 1923 to 1938, and thereafter a professor and Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Calcutta until his death in 1956. He became Fellow of the Royal Society in 1927. He was president of the 21st session of the Indian Science Congress in 1934.

Saha was fortunate to have brilliant teachers and class fellows. In his student days, Jagadish Chandra Bose and Prafulla Chandra Roy were at the pinnacle of their fame. Amongst his class fellows were Satyendra Nath Bose, Jnan Ghosh and J. N. Mukherjee. In later life he was close to Amiya Charan Banerjee, a renowned mathematician at Allahabad University.

On his religious views, Saha was an atheist.^[1][2]

Saha died on February 16th, 1956 at the age of 62.

Career [edit]

Meghnad Saha's best-known work concerned the thermal ionisation of elements, and it led him to formulate what is known as the Saha equation. This equation is one of the basic tools for interpretation of the spectra of stars in astrophysics. By studying the spectra of various stars, one can find their temperature and from that, using Saha's equation, determine the ionisation state of the various elements making up the star.

Saha also helped to build several scientific institutions, such as the Physics Department in Allahabad University and the Institute of Nuclear Physicsin Calcutta. He founded the journal Science and Culture and was the editor until his death.^[3] He was the leading spirit in organizing several scientific societies, such as the National Academy of Science (1930), the Indian Physical Society (1934), Indian Institute of Science (1935) and the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (1944). A lasting memorial to him is the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, founded in 1943 in Kolkata

He also invented an instrument to measure the weight and pressure of solar rays.

He was also the chief architect of river planning in India. He prepared the original plan for the Damodar Valley Project.

Saha's own comment on his work was as follows:

“Scientists are often accused of living in the “Ivory Tower” and not troubling their mind with realities and apart from my association with political movements in my juvenile years, I had lived in ivory tower up to 1930. But science and technology are as important for administration now-a-days as law and order. I have gradually glided into politics because I wanted to be of some use to the country in my own humble way.”^[4]