Nobel Prize History in Physics

Alfred Nobel • Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm, Sweden on

October 21, 1833. The men in his family history were mostly engineers and inventors which he was destined to soon follow.

• Alfred is famously known for his discovery of

dynamite. In fact, his father was a manufacturer of nitroglycerine. Yet due to the amount of accidents handling this dangerous explosive, Alfred was determined to finding a way to make it safer and more manageable for use.

• In Alfred’s will, he set aside a large sum of

money to set up annual awards for outstanding intellectual achievements in several different fields including chemistry, physics, medicine, literature and more.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel Swedish chemist, inventor and engineer

The Nobel Prize • The Nobel Prize is regarded as the most

prestigious award given for intellectual achievement in the world. Funding for this award was provided by Alfred Nobel in his will “to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.”

• Nobel Prizes are established for accomplishments

in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and the Nobel Prize for Peace. The Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences was first established in 1968 and was first awarded in 1969.

• The first Nobel prizes were awarded on Dec 10th

1901 which included winners: • Jacobus H. van’t Hoff – Chemistry • Wilhelm C. Röntgen – Physics • Emil A. von Behring – Physiology or Medicine • Rene F. A. Sully Prudhomme – Literature • Jean H. Dunant and Frédéric Passy – Peace

Selection Process • The Nobel prizes' famous

prestige is stemmed from the serious research and investigation involved in the selection of the prizewinners. Winners are selected in the early autumn of the preceding year. There are generally between 100 to 250 nominees for each prize.

• Nominations are given out by Nobel laureates as well as other scholars and officials from the prize-awarding institutions in fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, economics and more.

• The final decision by the

evaluators are made by November 15th. Prizes are generally given only to individuals, except for the Peace Prize which may also be conferred by an institution.

• Respondents attach a written proposal that details the candidate’s worthiness. Prize proposals are required to be submitted on or before January 31st of the award year.

Nobel Prizes in Physics

• The first Nobel prize in physics was awarded to Wilhelm Röntgen in “recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently named after him” in 1901. There have been many notable Nobel prize winners throughout the years, as of today totaling 107 prizes. most recently:

• 2012 – Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland for

“ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems.”

• 2011 – Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt and

Adam G. Riess for “the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae.” Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen,

1901 Nobel Prize winner in atomic physics, x-rays

Nobel Prizes in Physics 2013

Francois Englert and Peter W. Higgs 2013 Nobel Prize winners

• Renowned physicists Englert and Higgs earned the Nobel Prize in physics for “the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass subatomic particles” which was demonstrated by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.

• During the 1960s, both Higgs and Englert theorized the existence of the particle to help

expand and explain how matter has mass. Decades later, CERN research helped confirm the particle’s existence.

Large Hadron Collider • The Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

is the world’s largest and fastest particle accelerator. It is the result of 10 years of construction from 1998-2008. The LHC was developed at CERN in Geneva.

• Simply put, the design purpose

behind LHC was the ability to collide particles at high energy and therefore accommodate and make new discoveries in physics never before possible until now.

• In fact, several of the most

powerful physics experiments can be hosted through the LHC. It was constructed in a circular shape, 17 miles in length.

Above ground and underground images of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider

Higgs Boson (God Particle) • Higgs boson or “god particle” helps

uncover and explain one of the most important theories of science: the big bang theory. The discovery was made at the European Organization for Nuclear Research also known as CERN. The term boson refers to the type of fundamental particle with many characteristics similar to a photon.

• Higgs is a reference to Peter Higgs, a

physicist who alongside his colleagues published studies in predicting the mechanism in which could house such particle activity.

• The Higgs is a new and crucial component

in the Standard Model of physics. CERN’s computer rendered image of Higgs boson particle

The Future of Physics • With the discovery of the Higgs boson, the

face and future of theoretical physics has changed significantly. Post-Higgs discoveries like supersymmetry give greater insight into dark matter. Probing into these theories are given great precision thanks to the technological power of the LHC.

• It is no secret that physics is all around us.

With great intellectual leaps in the understanding of new physics, there are consequently new advancements in technology, chemistry, engineering, biomedical sciences and much more. These disciplines help improve our way of life and our relationship with our environment.

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