THE last century can aptly be called the century of physics. Rightly so because all the nations which had made significant socio economic and industrial progress around that time had sound research and development capabilities in the sphere of physics. The discovery of electron, x-rays, radio-activity, structure of atom, the development of the special theory of relativity, general theory of relativity, quantum mechanics and spectroscopy are some of the breakthroughs in physics during the last century which have spurred modern day technological development. Post globalisation this has particularly impacted the IT, BT, pharmaceuticals, management and other manufacturing sectors.
The onset of the first and second world wars resulted in a large exodus of eminent scientists from European countries to the United States of America. This incremented the scientific and technological prowess of the US ultimately making it a super power. If the US and many European countries have made such significant advancement in the fields of science and technology it is important to examine their education system, which has influenced this. More importantly it is important to compare it with the situation in India.
SCIENCE IN INDIA
In India, it would be highly informative to look into the status of science in general and physics in particular especially in the post-independence period. The scientific achievements of Jagadish Chandra Bose, C V Raman and a host of other eminent scientists had inspired many youngsters to take science as a career choice. Large numbers of scientific research institutes were established in the country under the auspices of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR,) Department of Science and Technology (DST), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and many other organisations.
Post independence India has seen a surge of educational institutions at various levels. However these institutions at large mirrored several discrepancies. While on one hand we had avant-garde institutions we also had schools and colleges where basic amenities and infrastructure was missing.The general tendency during these times was that qualified people more often than not pursued their career and academic ambitions abroad.The few who decided to return or stayed on in India contributed to the development of the science and technology in the country.
ENROLMENT DECLINE
It is an acknowledged fact that since 1980's the number of students opting for science courses in higher education is decreasing every year. This is attributed to the establishment of a large number of engineering, medical and dental colleges after 1980's in a few states under the self-financing scheme.
DEMOTIVATING FACTORS
The number of students opting for science subjects at class XI and XII is found to be small because the students at the secondary school level are discouraged from taking science as a career choice. They have the misconception that science subjects are difficult to understand and can be learnt only if students opt for private tuitions. This particularly intimidates students from low-income groups.
GLOBAL SCENARIO
The dominant perception of physics worldwide is that it is difficult, abstract, and requires high skills in mathematics. The challenge is an introductory course in physics which can convince students that physics is rewarding, fun, useful and is a worthwhile endeavor. Physics has to be taught integrating theory and practice in appropriate proportions.
Some opportunities in the domain of physics which students need to be familiarised with:
MULTI DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
The challenges that need the attention of our younger minds in the scientific research in general and physics in particular are quite enormous. In the present context, breakthrough in research is possible through inter-disciplinary or multi-disciplinary research.
PHYSICS AND BIOLOGY
With collaboration between physics and biotechnology, we can have studies ranging from medical imaging to irradiating tumours to understanding the mechanism of protein folding.
NEW MATERIALS
There is a need to develop quantum technologies with applications ranging from development of new materials to analysis of human genome.
This depends on the ability to manipulate individual atoms and molecules, which are a branch of physics.
TECHNOLOGY USING PHYSICS
There are several uses of physics for national security and defense through cryptography, remote sensing, precision warfare, missile defense and development of new materials.
EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE
Physics helps in the development of new instruments through which stars, galaxies, dark matter and 'Big Bang' can be studied and these will revolutionise our understanding of universe, its origin and its destiny.
INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO FIND NEW PHYSICS
Several international efforts have been undertaken to explore the secrets of nature in a cooperative way. These have thrown open a large number of opportunities and challenges especially in pure physics. For instance the construction of Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, Geneva is truly an international exercise since the project involves scientists and funding from dozens of countries. There is a need for the Indian universities to train our youngsters to get prepared for participating in these cooperative projects.
STUDY OPTIONS
Some of the reputed institutions which offer specialised courses in science and physics education include the National Laboratories such as NPL Delhi, NCL Pune, BARC Mumbai, IGCAR Kalpakkam, ISRO Bangalore, NAL Bangalore, CFTRI Mysore and CSTRI Mysore.
NATIONAL EFFORTS TO ENCOURAGE BASIC SCIENCE
The general trend in the poor enrolment to basic science has caught the serious attention of many educationists, several senior scientists in the country like C N R Rao, former President A P J Abdul Kalam, the members of planning commission and many others including statesmen like our prime minister Manmohan Singh. It is only with this purpose that the planning commission has allocated to higher education in the 11 th Plan period more than ten times the allocation that was made during the 10 th Plan period. The central government has envisaged many attractive programmes for encouraging our bright youngsters' enrolment to basic science.
Sunil Sharma
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