Modern magnetism and the pioneering experiments of K. S. Krishnan

In this article we relook at the pioneering experimental contributions of K . S. Krishnan in the area of magnetism. In the early days of quantum mechan ics when it was applied to understand magnetism, the precise experiments of his on magnetic anisotropy of diamagnetic as well as paramagnetic crystals provided the much needed experimental foundation for our understanding of an important component of modern magnetism. Classic was his experiment on t he Landau diamagnetism of graphite which was shown for the first time as a model of 2-d free electron gas. He was current and much ahead of his peers. He combined most recent physical concepts with precise experiments.