In the 1960s, C. V. Raman wrote a series of papers on floral colors and the physiology of vision. In there, he was very interested in the origin of colors from various different flowers. This was also motivated by his fascination with optics and natural colors in vegetation. Specifically, during that era, he had a large garden at his institution and he was deeply immersed in understanding the origin of the colors from these wonderful living creatures.
By using his knowledge of spectroscopy and the chemistry of pigments, he was able to explore some of the spectral features of the floral colors. The diagrams that you are seeing are illustrations from his paper published in 1963.
As you can observe, these illustrations are beautifully created. I don’t know whether Raman himself drew these pictures, but one should really appreciate the artist who has created them.
In a broader sense, it also indicates two important aspects. The first is that Raman was deeply motivated by natural phenomena. His intuition of optics helped him to understand the origins of a variety of natural optical processes. Spectroscopy was a crucial element in all the things that he did. The second aspect is that, in a deeper sense, aesthetics is interwoven with the pursuit of science and Raman’s work, especially towards the later part of his life, showcased it.
There is a fascinating video conversation with Richard Feynman where he describes the appreciation of the beauty of flowers by a scientist. Raman’s appreciation of beauty is close to what Feynman is describing in the video.
C. V. Raman was a curious person. He had a deep inclination to explore natural phenomena, using the knowledge and tools he had accumulated over several decades. In that sense, he was a scientist driven by curiosity before and after his Nobel prize.
Next time when you see a flower, remember that it is a creature of beauty and science merged together.
ps: blogpost in audio-visual format
VISMAYA - History & Philosophy of Science 