Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav) header
Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav) profile picture

Pranava Sharma

@quantumpranav

Space/Science Historian | Astrophysicist | DPhil Student @UniOfOxford | Formerly @unicc_ict @S20_India @insa_academy | Adj @RRI_Bangalore |

 New Delhi, India
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pranav_Sharma
Joined March 2010
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Photo by Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav)Photo by Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav)Photo by Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav)Photo by Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav)Photo by Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav)Photo by Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav)Photo by Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav)Photo by Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav)Photo by Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav)Photo by Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav)
The wait ends here! Our book #EssentialAstrophysics is here! It feels so good to hold a copy. Thank you @CRCPress @tandfonline @shantanu_basu Order your copy here: routledge.com/Essential-Astr…
Image from Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav)
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Pranava Sharma retweeted
University of Oxford (@UniofOxford) profile picture
University of Oxford
@UniofOxfordNov 8
Wishing a happy Diwali to everybody celebrating! 🪔🎆 #Diwali
Fireworks display above the dome of the Radcliffe Camera at the University of Oxford with a text overlay saying 'Happy Diwali from the University of Oxford.'

ALT Fireworks display above the dome of the Radcliffe Camera at the University of Oxford with a text overlay saying 'Happy Diwali from the University of Oxford.'

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Pranava Sharma retweeted
The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) profile picture
The Nobel Prize
@NobelPrizeNov 6
On the eve of Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman's birthday, take a look at this clip from 1930 when Raman had just arrived in Stockholm, Sweden to receive his Nobel Prize at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony on 10 December. #NobelPrize
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Today is the birthday of Homi J. Bhabha, who is famous for his work on electron scattering and pioneering the nuclear energy programme in India! One of Bhabha’s most well-known achievements was deriving the correct expression of scattering positrons by electrons, which became known as Bhabha scattering. He is often referred to as ‘the father of the Indian nuclear programme’. He earned this reputation from his role in establishing the Cosmic Ray Research Unit at the Indian Institute of Science (@iiscbangalore) and from helping to formulate India’s strategy in nuclear power. He played an important part in the formation of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1948 and the Department of Atomic Energy in 1954. He represented India at IAEA conferences.
Image from IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg)
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The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) profile picture
The Nobel Prize
@NobelPrizeOct 27
"Ptolemy made a universe which lasted 1,400 years. Newton also made a universe, which has lasted 300 years. Einstein has made a universe and I can’t tell you how long that will last.” - George Bernard Shaw pays tribute to Albert Einstein #OTD in 1930. #NobelPrize
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If science is hardware, there is no reason the hardware should not sit beside the idol. If science is prestige, an ancient Indian origin for it only adds to the prestige. Nothing in a rocket objects to being blessed. My column in @ThePrintIndia
ThePrintIndia (@ThePrintIndia) profile pictureThePrintIndia
@ThePrintIndiaOct 25
'Why Nehru’s idea of scientific temper failed in India' Pranav Sharma, historian of science at University of Oxford, writes #ThePrintOpinion theprint.in/opinion/nehru-sc…
Why Nehru’s idea of scientific temper failed in India

Why Nehru’s idea of scientific temper failed in India

Calls to restore scientific temper by ministerial exhortation only confirm that science is something the government hands down, which is exactly the mistake that brought us here.

theprint.in
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Pranava Sharma retweeted
ThePrintIndia (@ThePrintIndia) profile picture
ThePrintIndia
@ThePrintIndiaOct 25
'Why Nehru’s idea of scientific temper failed in India' Pranav Sharma, historian of science at University of Oxford, writes #ThePrintOpinion theprint.in/opinion/nehru-sc…
Why Nehru’s idea of scientific temper failed in India

Why Nehru’s idea of scientific temper failed in India

Calls to restore scientific temper by ministerial exhortation only confirm that science is something the government hands down, which is exactly the mistake that brought us here.

theprint.in
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It's very rare to find gems like #Mahishasurmardini by #BirenKrishnaBhadra. Nothing more beautiful than listening to it on the record player! Feeling so blessed! #Delhi #MorningMusings
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"The program (@isro) was germinated, conceptualized, and evolved by the scientists." -Prof Kasturirangan on the origins of 🇮🇳🇨🇵 partnership in space. Read more about 🇮🇳🇨🇵 scientific history at hos.ifindia.in #Space #History #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav @cnes @ifiofficiel – at New Delhi, India
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Congratulations 🎊 Thank you @kris_sg for your generosity in supporting science, technology and research, innovation in India.
kris gopalakrishnan (@kris_sg) profile picturekris gopalakrishnan@kris_sgOct 10
pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updat… @iitmadras #Sudha_Gopalakrishnan_Brain_Center
Image from kris gopalakrishnan (@kris_sg)
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The machines have not risen to our standard. We are lowering the standard to meet them. Superintelligence will not arrive. It will be declared by people who have forgotten what the word meant. My piece in @ThePrintIndia: theprint.in/opinion/ai-is-no…
AI is not intelligent. We have just lowered the bar

AI is not intelligent. We have just lowered the bar

The machines have not risen to our standard. We are lowering the standard to meet them. Each essay is marked for fluency instead of understanding.

theprint.in
ThePrintIndia (@ThePrintIndia) profile pictureThePrintIndia
@ThePrintIndiaOct 11
'AI is not intelligent. We have just lowered the bar' Pranav Sharma, historian of science, writes #ThePrintOpinion theprint.in/opinion/ai-is-no…
AI is not intelligent. We have just lowered the bar

AI is not intelligent. We have just lowered the bar

The machines have not risen to our standard. We are lowering the standard to meet them. Each essay is marked for fluency instead of understanding.

theprint.in
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First of many reading days at the @bodleianlibs!
Image from Pranava Sharma (@quantumpranav)
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Pranava Sharma retweeted
The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) profile picture
The Nobel Prize
@NobelPrizeOct 6
BREAKING NEWS The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2026 #NobelPrize in Physics to Francis Halzen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.”
Image from The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize)
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Pranava Sharma retweeted
ThePrintIndia (@ThePrintIndia) profile picture
ThePrintIndia
@ThePrintIndiaSep 29
'What happens when a university burns in war? Science is difficult to rebuild' As a Russian jet-powered drone hit Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, read #ThePrintOpinion by Pranav Sharma @quantumpranav, historian of science. theprint.in/opinion/what-hap…
What happens when a university burns in war? Science is difficult to rebuild

What happens when a university burns in war? Science is difficult to rebuild

When Karazin University in Kharkiv fell silent in the spring of 2022, what was lost was not a database. It was a living epistemic community—something more intangible that takes centuries to build.

theprint.in
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Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences was struck in Kyiv. Buildings can be rebuilt. The seminar culture and supervisory lineages inside them cannot. A scientific community does not regenerate; it goes extinct. theprint.in/opinion/what-hap… @ThePrintIndia
What happens when a university burns in war? Science is difficult to rebuild

What happens when a university burns in war? Science is difficult to rebuild

When Karazin University in Kharkiv fell silent in the spring of 2022, what was lost was not a database. It was a living epistemic community—something more intangible that takes centuries to build.

theprint.in
Scholars At Risk (@ScholarsAtRisk) profile pictureScholars At Risk@ScholarsAtRiskSep 28
Today, Russian strikes hit #Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences. Military forces must not target #highered or scientific infrastructure – civilian facilities. SAR condemns such attacks for the death and injuries caused and for the research stifled.ow.ly/WzfY50ZSs9a
Fire, Smoke and Desperation After a Strike in the Heart of Kyiv

Fire, Smoke and Desperation After a Strike in the Heart of Kyiv

A Russian jet-powered drone hit Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, the source of almost all of the country’s major scientific discoveries.

nytimes.com
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Pranava Sharma retweeted
European Space Agency (@esa) profile picture
European Space Agency
@esaSep 21
ESA and ISRO are extending and broadening their cooperation for another five years, opening new opportunities to work together on space weather, exploration and space sustainability. 🇮🇳 🔗 esa.int/About_Us/Corporate_n…
Image from European Space Agency (@esa)
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Pranava Sharma retweeted
Scroll.in (@scroll_in) profile picture
Scroll.in
@scroll_inSep 22
You cannot be absent for the substance of a life and then expect to be present in its accounting. I have a life, a good one. It has almost none of the people I once knew as indispensable. scroll.in/article/1095841/wh… Pranav Sharma writes.
Image from Scroll.in (@scroll_in)
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भारत के पास अब एक पीढ़ी के भीतर बड़े पैमाने पर गरीबी और भीषण भुखमरी को पूरी तरह खत्म करने की तकनीकी क्षमता है. लेकिन क्या वह ऐसा करना चाहता है?
ThePrintHindi (@ThePrintHindi) profile pictureThePrintHindi
@ThePrintHindiSep 22
भारत के पास भूखमरी को खत्म करने की टेक्नोलॉजी अभी मौजूद है, सवाल जनता की इच्छाशक्ति का है विज्ञान के इतिहासकार प्रणव शर्मा @quantumpranav लिखते हैं #ThePrintOpinion hindi.theprint.in/opinion/in…
भारत के पास भूखमरी को खत्म करने की टेक्नोलॉजी अभी मौजूद है, सवाल जनता की इच्छाशक्ति का है

भारत के पास भूखमरी को खत्म करने की टेक्नोलॉजी अभी मौजूद है, सवाल जनता की इच्छाशक्ति का है

भारत के पास अब एक पीढ़ी के भीतर बड़े पैमाने पर गरीबी और भीषण भुखमरी को पूरी तरह खत्म करने की तकनीकी क्षमता है. लेकिन क्या वह ऐसा करना चाहता है?

hindi.theprint.in
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Pranava Sharma retweeted
rama lakshmi (@RamaNewDelhi) profile picture
rama lakshmi@RamaNewDelhiSep 4
Do feminists ever retire? Gloria Steinem died fighting last century’s battles My article theprint.in/opinion/gloria-s…
Do feminists ever retire? Gloria Steinem died fighting last century’s battles

Do feminists ever retire? Gloria Steinem died fighting last century’s battles

Rights can be taken away by hostile governments and courts. The political grammar that women have learned to fight with can’t be taken away by anybody. That is Gloria Steinem’s true legacy.

theprint.in
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That gap between capacity and obligation has a specific name in our moment: hunger. What remains scarce is the decision to aim the assembled capacity at that end rather than another. Many thanks to @txprasanna and @RamaNewDelhi
ThePrintIndia (@ThePrintIndia) profile pictureThePrintIndia
@ThePrintIndiaSep 20
'India has the technology to end extreme hunger now. It’s a question of public will' Pranav Sharma @quantumpranav, a historian of science, writes #ThePrintOpinion theprint.in/opinion/india-te…
India has the technology to end extreme hunger now. It’s a question of public will

India has the technology to end extreme hunger now. It’s a question of public will

India now has the technical capacity to actually eliminate mass poverty and extreme hunger within a generation. Does it want to?

theprint.in
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My essay in @scroll_in on friendship, life, and the absurd in between.
Scroll.in (@scroll_in) profile pictureScroll.in
@scroll_inSep 21
In your 20s, everyone you meet seems like a permanent friend. At 33, you stop blaming distance and geography and start doing an audit. I lost friends because I was short-tempered, too much, too loud in the room, too insistent. scroll.in/article/1095841/wh… Pranav Sharma writes.
Image from Scroll.in (@scroll_in)
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