The Roots and Development of Particle Physics in India (SpringerBriefs in History of Science and Technology)

Preface Contents Part I The Coming and Spread of Western Science 1 The First Steps 1.1 Map-Making in the Fledgling Raj 1.2 The Great Trigonometric Survey 1.3 The Cantankerous Surveyor 2 The Highest Mountain in the World 2.1 The Himalayas 2.2 Measuring the Great Peaks 2.3 The ‘Hindoo Savant’ 2.4 The Roof of the World 2.5 ‘The Man Who Discovered Mt. Everest’ 3 Reformers and Educators 3.1 The Mohammedan College of Calcutta 3.2 The Fort William College 3.3 The Orientalist Movement 3.4 The Hindu Mahapathshala 3.5 Bentinck and Macaulay 3.6 De Morgan’s Ramanujan 3.7 Colleges Proliferate Across India 3.8 Wood’s Despatch and the Foundation of Universities 3.9 Muslims Join in 3.10 Cultivation of the Sciences 4 Indian Science Comes into its Own 4.1 The ‘Master of Nitrites’ 4.2 The Genius of Jagadis Chundra Bose 4.3 Postgraduate Science 4.4 The World Beaters Part II Particle Physics—The Early Days 5 The Beginnings 5.1 Elementary Particles 5.2 Radioactivity in Bombay and Bangalore 5.3 The Discovery of Cosmic Rays 5.4 The Rise of D.M. Bose 5.5 Unsung Pioneers 5.6 Cosmic Rays Again: Millikan and Anderson 5.7 Particle Physics Begins in India 5.8 Good Intentions 6 Bhabha and Sarabhai 6.1 The Parsees 6.2 The Making of Homi Bhabha 6.3 Bhabha and the Antiparticle Hypothesis 6.4 Cosmic Ray Showers 6.5 Heroic Days 6.6 Reality Check 6.7 Balloons and Brainteasers 6.8 The Creation of TIFR 6.9 The Young Sarabhai 6.10 Bangalore Years 6.11 The PRL 6.12 The Space Programme 7 The Return of Bose 7.1 The Science Congress 7.2 Tracking Mesotrons 7.3 How the Pion Was Won 7.4 The Curious After-Life of Biva Chowdhury 8 The Growth and Spread of Particle Physics Research 8.1 The TIFR Group 8.2 P.S. Gill and the Aligarh Group 8.3 Experiments at Kolar 8.4 The Delhi University Group 8.5 Alladi Ramakrishnan and MATSCIENCE 9 Observations and Reflections Bibliography This book narrates the history of the initiation and development of elementary particle physics in India and by Indians, focusing on the first half of the twentieth century. The thread is taken up with the introduction of Western science into India in the previous century. The contents are a mixture of science and biographies, interspersed with anecdotes and reflections on the historical and societal connections. The style is generally non-technical, with any technical issues explained and interwoven into the narrative. This book is of interest to scientists, to people with interest in science and the history of science, students curious about the initiation of science in the Indian context and about the famous Indian scientists, as well as administrators who wish to understand the roots of current Indian science, especially in the context of particle physics.