Scientific Papers of C.V. Raman: Volume IV : Optics of minerals and diamond

Abstract

To C.V. Raman color was an obsession. The visual impact that the blue of the Mediterranean had on him culminated in his discovery of the Raman effect. This volume contains 79 papers he published on a variety of topics, 39 of which deal with color in Nature. All the optical phenomena in his repertoire were necessary to explain the flashing rainbow colors of the plumage of birds. 16 papers deal with diamonds: The beauty of their geometric form, and their lustrous curved faces bring out clearly that many specimens exhibit a symmetry lower than the highest in the cubic class. Twenty papers deal with miscellaneous topics in which Raman was interested from time to time. His phenomenological theory of viscosity which was so useful to the polymer chemist, his classic studies of impact between two bodies, and his pioneering work of the mechanism on fracture of solids are all dealt with in this volume.