In the discipline of quantum physics, names like Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr are often in the spotlight. But there is another figure who deserves just as much recognition: the Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose, whose pioneering work on the indistinguishability of particles revolutionized modern physics, introducing the concept of particles later named the “boson” in his honor and laying the foundations for discoveries like the Higgs. boson almost a century later.

Now, as we commemorate 100 years of the Bose-Einstein statistic, it is incredible to see Bose’s legacy celebrated around the world. His work not only shaped the course of quantum mechanics, it changed the way we understand the building blocks of the universe.

Born on January 1, 1894, in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bose showed remarkable talent for mathematics from an early age. He graduated with highest honors in physics from Presidency College. Despite his poor eyesight, his passion for science marked him as one of India’s most promising young scientists.

Motivated by his teacher, Jagadish Chandra Bose, a pioneer in radio waves, Bose was inspired to explore the untapped potential of physics and ventured into quantum mechanics, where his contributions would immortalize his name.

In 1917, he began teaching physics and applied mathematics at the Calcutta University of Science, where he collaborated with the physicist Meghnad Saha. Together, they published a paper on the kinetic theory of gases in the Philosophical Magazine, advancing molecular understanding in statistical mechanics.

Bose and Saha also translated Albert Einstein’s key works on relativity from German into English. This dedication to expanding scientific knowledge became a defining characteristic of Bose’s career.

In the early 1920s, Bose was studying Max Planck’s quantum theory, which dealt with the distribution of energy in blackbody radiation. Planck’s work was new, but it was based on assumptions that Bose found unsatisfactory. He believed that photons, the particles of light, behaved differently from the particles of classical mechanics, which obey the laws of distinction. Claiming that the accepted norms were absurd, Bose proposed a new way of counting particles in quantum states, focusing in particular on indistinguishable particles—an entirely new concept. In 1924, Bose wrote a paper, Planck’s Law and the Light Quantum Hypothesisin which he derived Planck’s radiation law without classical assumptions. He developed a method to treat photons as indistinguishable particles, laying the groundwork for what would later be called Bose-Einstein Statistics. Bose submitted his paper to a prestigious British journal, only to have it rejected. Undaunted, he decided to send his paper directly to Albert Einstein, then the world’s greatest physicist, with this letter: “If you think the paper is worth publishing, I would be grateful if you could arrange for it to be published in Zeitschrift für Physik. Although I am a complete stranger to you, I feel no hesitation in making such a request. Because we are all your students, though we only benefit from your teachings through your writings.”

Einstein almost immediately recognized the importance of Bose’s work. Not only did he arrange for its publication in the Zeitschrift für Physikbut he also extended Bose’s ideas, applying the new statistics to atoms and predicting a remarkable state of matter that would later be known as the Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC). This new state occurs when particles occupy the same quantum state, resulting in observable quantum phenomena on a macroscopic scale. Einstein’s enthusiastic support of Bose’s work helped propel Bose’s statistics into mainstream physics, cementing his legacy.

Although his name was now associated with a revolutionary theory, Bose’s work did not bring him immediate fame or acclaim. In 1924, Einstein expanded on Bose’s statistics without seeking Bose’s input, and in two of his later papers he even incorrectly credited the concept to another scientist, Debendra Mohan Bose. This oversight, combined with the geographical and cultural divide between Bose and the scientific establishment, delayed the full recognition of his contributions. After a period in Dhaka, Bose spent two years in Europe from 1924 to 1926, initially intending to work with Einstein in Berlin. However, by the time he arrived, Einstein had moved on to other areas of research, focusing on the unification of electromagnetic and gravitational fields. Despite this missed opportunity, Einstein provided letters of introduction that enabled Bose to connect with prominent European physicists.

On his return to India, Bose continued his academic career, eventually becoming head of the physics department at Dhaka University. Here, he introduced new ideas in quantum mechanics and statistical physics, inspiring a new generation of Indian physicists. Later, in 1945, he joined the University of Calcutta, where he spent the rest of his career promoting education and scientific research in India. Despite his academic success, Bose faced challenges such as lack of resources and resistance from conservative faculty members at Santiniketan, where he briefly taught.

Bose’s work laid the foundation for several important discoveries in quantum mechanics. The BEC concept, predicted in the 1920s, remained theoretical until 1995, when scientists Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman created the first BEC in a laboratory using rubidium atoms. Their work, along with the research of Wolfgang Ketterle, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2001 and validated Bose’s ideas by demonstrating the quantum behavior of particles on a macroscopic scale.

More broadly, Bose’s contributions were fundamental in distinguishing between two classes of particles in the quantum domain: bosons and fermions. Bosons, named after Bose by the physicist Paul Dirac, follow Bose-Einstein statistics and can occupy the same quantum state, enabling phenomena such as superconductivity and superfluidity. Fermions, on the other hand, obey the Pauli exclusion principle and cannot occupy the same state, giving rise to the structure of matter.

Although Bose was nominated for the Nobel Prize, he never received it. His work was seminal, but like many scientists outside the Western world, he struggled for recognition. Despite this, Bose’s contributions remain an integral part of physics. His work with Einstein is celebrated as a turning point in quantum theory, and the impact of Bose-Einstein statistics extends beyond physics to fields such as cosmology and condensed matter science. As we witness the evolution of modern physics with discoveries like the Higgs boson and advances in quantum computing, Bose’s pioneering work on particle indistinguishability and quantum statistics remains more relevant than ever.

Nearly 50 years after his death, his legacy lives on in institutions named in his honor, and his name continues to inspire, representing a scientist who pushed boundaries and laid the foundation for discoveries that continue to shape our understanding of the universe .

Nishant Sahdev is a theoretical physics researcher and research affiliate at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States. The opinions expressed are personal