Substance of a Lecture delivered by Prof. J. C. Bose on the 20th
November 1915, at the Ram Mohan Library, under the Presidency of the
Hon'ble Mr. P. C. Lyon, and published at p. 693, Vol. xviii, of the
"Modern Review" (July to December, 1915).
At the tournament held before the court at Hastinapur, more than
twenty-five centuries ago, Karna, the reputed son of a Charioteer, had
challenged the supremacy of Prince Arjuna. To this challenge Arjuna had
returned a scornful answer; a prince could not cross swords with one who
could claim no nobility of descent. "I am my own ancestor," replied
Karna, and this perhaps the earliest assertion of the right of man to
choose and determine his own destiny. In the realm of knowledge also the
great achievements have been won only by men with determined purpose and
without any adventitious aids. Undismayed by human limitations they had
struggled in spite of many a failure. In their inquiry after truth they
regarded nothing as too laborious, nothing too insignificant, nothing
too painful. This is the process which all must follow; there is no
easier path.
The lecturer's research on the properties of Electric Waves was begun
just twenty-one years ago. In this he was greatly encouraged by the
appreciation shown by the Royal Society, which not only published his
researches, but also offered a Parliamentary grant for the continuance
of his work. The greatest difficulty lay in the construction of a
receiver to detect invisible ether disturbances. For this a most
laborious investigation had to be undertaken to find the action of
electric radiation on all kinds of matter. As a result of this long and
very patient work a new type of receiver was invented, so perfect in its
action that the _Electrician_ suggested its use in ships and
electro-magnetic high houses for the communication and transmission of
danger signals at sea through space. This was in 1895, several years in
advance of the present wireless system. Practical application of the
result of Dr. Bose's investigations appear so important that Great
Britain and the United States granted him patents for his invention of a
certain crystal receiver which proved to be the most sensitive detector
of wireless signals.