Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, born on October 19, 1910, in Lahore (now Pakistan), was a renowned Indian-American astrophysicist. His groundbreaking work on the structure and evolution of stars, particularly white dwarfs and black holes, earned him the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics, which he shared with William Fowler.
Early Life and Education:
Chandrasekhar was born into a Tamil family, with his father, C.S. Iyer, being an officer in the Indian Audits and Accounts Department.
He was the nephew of the Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman.
He received early education at home, with his father teaching him physics and mathematics and his mother teaching him Tamil.
He later attended Hindu High School in Madras and Presidency College, where he earned a B.Sc. in Physics.
He pursued further studies at Cambridge University, where he earned his Ph.D. and held a fellowship at Trinity College.
Career and Research:
Chandrasekhar's research focused on stellar structure, stellar dynamics, radiative transfer, and hydrodynamic stability.
His most significant contribution is the Chandrasekhar limit, which defines the maximum mass of a white dwarf star.
He demonstrated that stars above this limit, when they exhaust their nuclear fuel, would collapse further, potentially leading to neutron stars or black holes.
He worked extensively on the theory of white dwarfs and black holes, shaping our understanding of these celestial objects.
His research also encompassed other areas, including stellar dynamics, radiative transfer, and hydrodynamic stability.
He spent most of his professional life at the University of Chicago, starting as an assistant professor in 1937 and eventually becoming an emeritus professor.
Legacy:
Chandrasekhar's work revolutionized our understanding of stellar evolution and the formation of compact objects.
His calculations on the Chandrasekhar limit were crucial in the eventual understanding of supernovas, neutron stars, and black holes.
The Chandrasekhar limit is a fundamental concept in astrophysics and continues to be a subject of research and study.
He was a highly influential figure in the field of astrophysics and is remembered for his intellectual rigor and dedication to scientific inquiry.
*In commemoration of his Memorial Day: August 21*
Grateful thanks to Google AI OVERVIEW for the biography and Wikimedia Commons for the image
