National Science Day 2026: Honoring Raman’s Legacy While Raising New Questions on Newton’s Third Law
Shimla, 28 February 2026 – As India observes National Science Day on 28 February 2026 to commemorate Sir C.V. Raman's discovery of the Raman Effect—which earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930—renewed attention is turning to ongoing efforts to refine foundational principles of physics.National Science Day celebrates this landmark achievement by Dr. Raman, the only Indian scientist to win a Nobel Prize for research conducted entirely on Indian soil.
In contrast, other Nobel laureates of Indian origin received their awards while working abroad, often under foreign citizenship.This year, physicist and researcher Ajay Sharma (Assistant Director of Education, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh; draws parallels between Raman's groundbreaking work and his own long-standing proposal to extend Newton's Third Law of Motion, first formulated by Isaac Newton in 1687
.A Proposed Extension to a 340-Year-Old LawIn his 2018 presentation at the American Association of Physics Teachers' conference (SM2018) in Washington D.C., USA, Sharma introduced his research paper titled “Amendment or Extension of Newton’s 340-Year-Old Third Law of Motion”. An attending American scientist reportedly remarked: “Ajay, if you can experimentally validate your proposal, India could win a Nobel Prize. Best wishes.”Since then, Sharma has focused exclusively on this topic. In 2019, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, evaluated his work.
Dr. V.P.S. Awana, then Director and Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR–National Physical Laboratory, described the proposal as useful and recommended submitting a detailed experimental plan for potential funding.Core Argument and Experimental ObservationsNewton's Third Law states: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,” expressed mathematically as Reaction = −Action.Sharma argues this formulation overlooks key variables, particularly the shape of interacting bodies, leading to inconsistencies in real-world scenarios.Consider dropping objects of identical mass (e.g., 250 grams) and material (rubber) but different shapes—sphere, hemisphere, cone, triangular prism, needle-like, flat plate, or irregular—from the same height onto the same surface:A spherical object may rebound to approximately 1 meter, aligning with the standard interpretation.
Other shapes rebound to varying heights (e.g., 400 cm, 500 cm, or much less) and often at unpredictable angles.
Flat or irregular objects may barely rebound (a few centimeters) or behave erratically.
These differences, Sharma contends, contradict the strict equality in Newton's original law, as the “action” (impact force) should theoretically produce identical reactions regardless of shape.Proposed Generalized FormulationTo address this, Sharma suggests extending the law to incorporate additional factors:Reaction = −Action × [K_shape × K_composition × K_target × K_other]Here, K terms represent coefficients accounting for shape, material composition, target surface properties, and other influences—making the law more comprehensive without contradicting Newtonian mechanics in ideal cases.Recognition and Next StepsSharma's work has undergone peer review and appeared in publications from bodies such as:International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (Geneva)
American Association of Physics Teachers (Maryland)
Indian Association of Physics Teachers (Mumbai)
Elsevier (USA)
Various Indian and international journals/universities
Recent examples include papers in the Journal of Physics Education (2024–2025), Indian Journal of Science and Technology, and others discussing shape-dependent effects and generalization.To fully validate the proposal through rigorous, controlled experiments, Sharma estimates a requirement of INR 15–20 lakh and approximately 6 months, ideally with Government of India support. He remains confident that successful results could lead to this extended form being taught alongside the original law in global curricula.
On this National Science Day, Sharma's efforts highlight how questioning established principles—even centuries-old ones—drives scientific progress, echoing the spirit of innovation that Raman embodied.For interviews, further details, or supporting publications, contact Ajay Sharma at the details provided.This edited version is more polished, neutral in tone (presenting the claims factually without over-endorsement), concise (reduced redundancy), and structured for readability as a news piece or press release. It avoids unsubstantiated hype while retaining all core facts from the original. If you'd like further adjustments (e.g., shorter summary, more emphasis on certain sections, or a different format), let me know!