Homi J. Bhabha

Homi Jehangir Bhabha
File:Bhabha.gif Homi J. Bhabha, considered the father of India's atomic energy program.
Born	30 October 1909 Mumbai
Died	24 January 1966
Residence	India
Nationality	Indian
Field	Physics
Institutions	Cavendish Laboratories Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Atomic Energy Commission of India
Alma mater	Cambridge
Academic advisor	Paul Dirac

Homi Jehangir Bhabha (October 30, 1909 – January 24, 1966) was an Indian nuclear physicist of Parsi-Zoroastrian heritage. He played a major role in the development of India's atomic energy program and is considered the father of India's nuclear program.

With the help of J. R. D. Tata, he established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research at Mumbai. With the end of the War and Indian Independence, he received the blessings of Nehru for efforts in India, towards peaceful development of atomic energy. He established the Atomic Energy Commission of India in 1948. He represented India in International Atomic Energy Forums, and as President of the United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, in Geneva in 1955. He was a pioneer of nuclear physics in his time and is considered the father of nuclear science in India. The construction of India's first atomic power plant began at Tarapur Maharashtra in 1963. Two years later a plutonium plant was installed. The climax came on May 18 1974 when Indian scientists exploded a nuclear device at Pokhran in Rajasthan. India became the sixth country to join the nuclear club.

He died in an air crash involving an Air India Boeing 707 near Mont Blanc in 1966. Conspiracy theories suggest sabotage intended to impede India's nuclear program, but his death remains a mystery.

After his death, the Atomic Energy Establishment was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honor. He was an alumnus of the Cathedral and John Connon School. Bhabha also encouraged research in electronics, space science, radio astronomy and microbiology. The famous radio telescope at Ooty, India was his initiation, and it became a reality in 1970.

Biography

Early life

Homi Bhabha was born in a rich Parsi family in Bombay (now Mumbai), in 1909. He was one of two sons. Homi’s father was a lawyer, and his mother was the granddaughter of Sir Dinshaw Petit, a well-known philanthropist who founded the Dinshaw Petit library in Bombay. His grandfather, Dr. Hormusji Bhabha, was the Inspector General of Education in the feudal state of Mysore around 1900. Given this aristocratic background, Homi was constantly surrounded by works of high culture, including books, music, and paintings.

Homi attended Cathedral School in Bombay, starting in 1916. At that time, this school was attended mainly by children of Europeans and Indians acclimated to western culture. Across from the school lived Homi’s paternal aunt, who was married to Sir Dorab Tata (son of the industrialist Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata). Her house was the ancestral home of the Tata dynasty. As part of a highly influential and reputed family, she often invited prominent individuals, including Mohandas Gandhi and other nationalist politicians of the day.

Homi’s developed tastes

In the words of Robert S. Anderson (1975), "Homi’s grandfather had a fine library, to which his father added books on art during his days as a student at Oxford and London. Homi took painting lessons while a boy, and continued to paint all his life – his mature style developed into a dark-colored melancholy around European symbolism." Given his taste for beauty, Bhabha felt it was important to beautify his places of work. Anderson adds, "His father and maternal aunt both had classical record collections (Beethoven, Mozart, Verdi, Wagner), and his lifelong appreciation of symphonic and operatic music was firmly founded by age 16 (1925). He was a frequent attendant at concerts whenever he was in Vienna, Boston, or wherever music was performed."

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He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on March 20, 1941.

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College

At age 15, Bhabha passed the Senior Cambridge examination and enrolled at Elphinstone College in Bombay. Later he studied at the Royal Institute of Science (located near Elphinstone College), which allowed for a little bit of research effectively mixed in with teaching.

It made sense that Homi’s father and Uncle Sir Dorab Tata wanted him to go for an engineering degree – they expected him to take over ownership of the Tata Iron and Steel Company at Jamshedpur. So in 1927, he went to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cambridge. While at Cambridge, Bhabha was influenced by physicist Paul Dirac, and his interests moved toward the study of theoretical physics and mathematics. Yet, in deference to his father's wishes, he agreed to complete his engineering course first. In 1930, he passed the Mechanical Engineering Tripos with first class. He then joined the Cavendish Laboratory and entered studies in theoretical physics. Two years later, he passed the Mathematics Tripos, again with first class. He received his doctorate from Cambridge in 1934.

The 1930s was a critical period filled with major discoveries in physics. At Cavendish lab, Cockcroft, Walton, Blackett, Occhialini, and Chadwick were doing important work on the structure of the atomic nucleus. In addition, based on scholarships he received, Bhabha was able to visit other groups doing exciting research on the European continent. In particular, he visited Wolfgang Pauli in Zurich, Enrico Fermi in Rome, and Kramers in Utrecht. He also worked briefly with Niels Bohr in Copenhagen. In this early period, he actively published papers in theoretical physics and secured himself a permanent reputation in the field.

Back in India

While Bhabha was on a vacation in India in 1939, World War II broke out in Europe. This forced him to remain in India, after having spent nearly 12 years among the hottest physics centers abroad.

Bhabha took the post of a Reader in Theoretical Physics at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, under Sir C. V. Raman. In 1941, he was promoted to Professor of Cosmic Ray Research. That same year, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. During the following year, he was offered the Chair of the Physics Department at the University of Allahabad and the Chair of Physics at the India Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), but he declined both offers. In 1943, he was elected President of the Physics section of the Indian Science Congress.

After the war, Bhabha moved to Bombay to set up the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), in June 1945. The Institute expanded considerably by 1949. Bhabha wrote his last theoretical physics paper on multiple meson production in 1953. Despite his busy schedule, his youthfulness and love for fun helped him maintain a good rapport with his younger colleagues.

Due to his observation on nuclear energy in 1944, Bhabha was one of the three who proposed the formation of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1948. In 1951, he became President of the Indian Science Congress, and in 1954 he became Secretary to the Government of India.

During October 1958, Bhabha visited the U.K. to review progress in nuclear power construction. He had to face several conflicts with atomic energy leaders of other nations, especially the United States. In addition, there was a shortage of foreign exchange due to devaluation of the Rupee.

Bhabha’s Lifeline of Achievements

1909 Born in Bombay 1916 Began at Cathedral School 1924 Passed Senior Cambridge examination 1925 Student at Elphinstone College 1927 Went to Cambridge – mechanical science trips 1930 B.A. degree granted 1932 First paper, Zeitschrift für Physik, Issac Newton studentship 1934 Met Fermi, Pauli, Kramers, and Bohr while traveling in Europe 1935 Awarded Ph.D. Cambridge 1936 Senior Studentship of 1851 Exhibition 1937 Theory of electron cascade showers, Adams Prize 1939 Caught in India by war outbreak during holiday 1941 Elected Fellow of Royal Society of London (FRS, age 32) 1942 Full professor (age 33) 1944 Proposed center for pure research 1945 Creation of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) 1946 Attempted to purchase G.E. Betatron 1948 Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC, India) 1951 President Indian Science Congress 1952 Meets Nehru regularly 1953 Last physics paper published 1954 AEC extended into Department of Atomic Energy (DAE, Bombay) 1955 Chairman, Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy Conference at Geneva 1956 APSARA critical, Trombay establishment begun 1962 New buildings of TIFR opened 1963 President of National Institute of Science in India (NISI), now Indian National Science Academy 1964 Starts work on electronics report 1966 Died in plane crash on Mont Blanc (age 57)

— From Robert S. Anderson’s Building Scientific Institutions in India: Saha and Bhabha

Quotes by Bhabha

"I know quite clearly what I want out of my life. Life and my emotions are the only things I am conscious of. I love the consciousness of life and I want as much of it as I can get. But the span of one's life is limited. What comes after death no one knows. Nor do I care. Since, therefore, I cannot increase the content of life by increasing its duration, I will increase it by increasing its intensity. Art, music, poetry and everything else that consciousness I do have this one purpose - increasing the intensity of my consciousness of life."

See also

• C. V. Raman
• Cosmic ray
• J. R. D. Tata
• Nuclear power

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Anderson, Robert S. 1975. Building Scientific Institutions in India: Saha and Bhabha. Montreal: Centre for Developing-Area Studies, McGill University. OCLC 2554273.

• Mahanti, Subodh. Homi Jehangir Bhabha. Vigyan Prasar Science Portal, Government of India. Retrieved July 19, 2007.

• Shivappa, K.C. Homi Bhabha. freeindia.org. Retrieved July 19, 2007.

External links

• Third World joins the nuclear club. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
• First Nuclear Test at Pokhran in 1974. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
• Bhabha. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
• The scientist and the aviator: a positive celebration. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
• Homi Bhabha Biography. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
• Radio Telescope, Ooty. Retrieved July 19, 2007.

Template:Indian Space Program

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