Nobel Prize in Physics

{{Short description|One of five prizes established in 1895 by Alfred Nobel}}

{{Infobox award

| name = Nobel Prize in Physics

| image = Nobel Prize.png

| alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "MDCCCXXXIII" above, followed by (smaller) "OB•" then "MDCCCXCVI" below.

| awarded_for = Outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics

| presenter = Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

| location = Stockholm, Sweden

| reward = 11 million Swedish kronor (2023){{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize amounts |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/about/the-nobel-prize-amounts/ |access-date=29 September 2023 |publisher=The Nobel Prize |archive-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720111123/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/about/amounts/ |url-status=live }}

| year = 1901

| holder_label = Most recently awarded to

| holder = John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton

| most_awards = John Bardeen (2)

| website = {{URL|https://nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/|nobelprize.org/physics}}

| previous = 2023

| year2 = 2024

| main = 2024

| next = 2025

}}

The Nobel Prize in Physics ({{langx|sv|Nobelpriset i fysik}}) is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901, the others being the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Physics is traditionally the first award presented in the Nobel Prize ceremony.

The prize consists of a medal along with a diploma and a certificate for the monetary award. The front side of the medal displays the same profile of Alfred Nobel depicted on the medals for Physics, Chemistry, and Literature.

The first Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen in recognition of the extraordinary services he rendered by the discovery of X-rays. This award is administered by the Nobel Foundation and is widely regarded as the most prestigious award that a scientist can receive in physics. It is presented in Stockholm at an annual ceremony on the 10th of December, the anniversary of Nobel's death. {{As of|2024}}, a total of 226 individuals have been awarded the prize.{{cite web |title=All Nobel Prizes in Physics |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/ |access-date=3 October 2023 |publisher=The Nobel Foundation |archive-date=25 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725000531/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/ |url-status=live }}

Background

File:Alfred Nobel3.jpg (1833–1896), who established the Nobel Prizes.]]

Alfred Nobel, in his last will and testament, stated that his wealth should be used to create a series of prizes for those who confer the "greatest benefit on mankind" in the fields of physics, chemistry, peace, physiology or medicine, and literature.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nobel_alfred.shtml |title=History – Historic Figures: Alfred Nobel (1833–1896) |publisher=BBC |access-date=3 May 2015 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227150003/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nobel_alfred.shtml |url-status=live }} Though Nobel wrote several wills during his lifetime, the last one was written a year before he died and was signed at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris on 27 November 1895.Ragnar Sohlman: 1983, Page 7{{cite journal | title=The Nobel Foundation and its Role for Modern Day Science | publisher=Springer-Verlag | journal=Die Naturwissenschaften | date=6 June 1981 | last=von Euler| first=U.S. | volume=68 | issue=6 | pages=277–281 | doi=10.1007/BF01047469 | bibcode=1981NW.....68..277V }} Nobel bequeathed 94% of his total assets, 31 million Swedish kronor (US$2.9 million, or €2.7 million in 2023), to establish and endow the five Nobel Prizes.{{cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/will/will-full.html | title=Nobel's will | publisher=Nobel.org | access-date=4 May 2015 | archive-date=15 August 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815060015/https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/will/will-full.html | url-status=live }} Owing to the level of skepticism surrounding the will, it was not until 26 April 1897 that it was approved by the Storting (Norwegian Parliament).{{cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobelfoundation/history/lemmel/index.html |title=The Nobel Foundation – History |publisher=Nobelprize.org |access-date=3 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109140259/http://nobelprize.org/nobelfoundation/history/lemmel/index.html |archive-date=9 January 2010 }}Agneta Wallin Levinovitz: 2001, Page 13 The executors of his will were Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist, who formed the Nobel Foundation to take care of Nobel's fortune and organise the prizes.

The members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee who were to award the Peace Prize were appointed soon after the will was approved. The other prize-awarding organisations followed: Karolinska Institutet on 7 June, the Swedish Academy on 9 June, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on 11 June.{{cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/spot/nobel-prize-history.html |title=Nobel Prize History – |publisher=Infoplease.com |date=13 October 1999 |access-date=3 May 2015 |archive-date=26 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130426043912/http://www.infoplease.com/spot/nobel-prize-history.html |url-status=live }}{{cite encyclopedia |author=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/416852/Nobel-Foundation |title=Nobel Foundation (Scandinavian organisation) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=3 May 2015 |archive-date=14 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514081249/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/416852/Nobel-Foundation |url-status=live }} The Nobel Foundation then established guidelines for awarding the prizes. In 1900, the Nobel Foundation's newly created statutes were promulgated by King Oscar II.[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/416856/Nobel-Prize "Nobel Prize] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429230820/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/416856/Nobel-Prize |date=29 April 2015 }}" (2007), in Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed 15 January 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: {{quote|After Nobel's death, the Nobel Foundation was set up to carry out the provisions of his will and to administer his funds. In his will, he had stipulated that four different institutions—three Swedish and one Norwegian—should award the prizes. From Stockholm, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences confers the prizes for physics, chemistry, and economics, the Karolinska Institute confers the prize for physiology or medicine, and the Swedish Academy confers the prize for literature. The Norwegian Nobel Committee based in Oslo confers the prize for peace. The Nobel Foundation is the legal owner and functional administrator of the funds and serves as the joint administrative body of the prize-awarding institutions, but it is not concerned with the prize deliberations or decisions, which rest exclusively with the four institutions. }} According to Nobel's will, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences would award the Prize in Physics.

Nomination and selection

File:Portrait of Albert Einstein and Others (1879-1955), Physicist - Restoration1.jpg (1907 laureate), Albert Einstein (1921 laureate), and Robert A. Millikan (1923 laureate).]]

A maximum of three Nobel laureates and two different works may be selected for the Nobel Prize in Physics.{{cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/ | title=Facts and figures | access-date=4 May 2015 | author=Nobelprize.org | archive-date=15 August 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815045159/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/ | url-status=live }} Compared with other Nobel Prizes, the nomination and selection process for the prize in physics is long and rigorous. This is a key reason why it has grown in importance over the years to become the most important prize in Physics.{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/416856/Nobel-Prize#toc93433 | title=The Nobel Prize Selection Process | publisher=Britannica Encyclopaedia | access-date=4 May 2015 | archive-date=29 April 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429230820/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/416856/Nobel-Prize#toc93433 | url-status=live }}

The Nobel laureates are selected by the Nobel Committee for Physics, a Nobel Committee that consists of five members elected by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. During the first stage which begins in September, a group of about 3,000 selected university professors, Nobel Laureates in Physics and Chemistry, and others are sent confidential nomination forms. The completed forms must arrive at the Nobel Committee by 31 January of the following year. The nominees are scrutinized and discussed by experts and are narrowed to approximately fifteen names. The committee submits a report with recommendations on the final candidates to the Academy, where, in the Physics Class, it is further discussed. The Academy then makes the final selection of the Laureates in Physics by a majority vote.{{cite web|title=Nomination and Selection of Physics Laureates|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/physics/|website=nobelprize.org|publisher=Nobel Media AB 2016|access-date=6 October 2016|archive-date=20 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520144235/https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/physics/|url-status=live}}

File:Abdus Salam 1987.jpg – 1979 laureate]]

The names of the nominees are never publicly announced, and neither are they told that they have been considered for the Prize. Nomination records are sealed for fifty years.{{cite web | url=http://nobelpeaceprize.org/en_GB/nomination_intro/nomination_secrecy/ | title=50 year secrecy rule | access-date=6 May 2015 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501054903/http://nobelpeaceprize.org/en_GB/nomination_intro/nomination_secrecy/ | archive-date=1 May 2015 }} While posthumous nominations are not permitted, awards can be made if the individual died in the months between the decision of the committee (typically in October) and the ceremony in December. Prior to 1974, posthumous awards were permitted if the candidate had died after being nominated.{{cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_organizations/nobelfoundation/statutes.html#par4 | title=About posthumous awards | access-date=4 May 2015 | archive-date=24 July 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724075738/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_organizations/nobelfoundation/statutes.html#par4 | url-status=live }}

The rules for the Nobel Prize in Physics require that the significance of achievements being recognized has been "tested by time". In practice, that means that the lag between the discovery and the award is typically on the order of 20 years and can be much longer. For example, half of the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar for his work on stellar structure and evolution that was done during the 1930s. As a downside of this tested-by-time rule, not all scientists live long enough for their work to be recognized. Some important scientific discoveries are never considered for a prize, as the discoverers have died by the time the impact of their work is appreciated.{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s11192-009-0035-9 |title=Why it has become more difficult to predict Nobel Prize winners: A bibliometric analysis of nominees and winners of the chemistry and physics prizes (1901–2007) |date=2009 |last1=Gingras |first1=Yves |last2=Wallace |first2=Matthew L. |journal=Scientometrics |volume=82 |issue=2 |pages=401|arxiv=0808.2517 |s2cid=23293903 }}{{cite journal|journal=Nature Chemistry |doi=10.1038/nchem.372|bibcode = 2009NatCh...1..509.|title=A noble prize|date=2009|volume=1|issue=7|pages=509|pmid=21378920 |doi-access=free}}

Prizes

A Physics Nobel Prize laureate is awarded a gold medal, a diploma bearing a citation, and a sum of money.{{cite web |author=Rivers |first=Tom |date=10 December 2009 |title=2009 Nobel Laureates Receive Their Honors | Europe |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/article-2009-nobel-laureates-receive-their-honors-78989292/368898.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004132331/http://www.voanews.com/content/article-2009-nobel-laureates-receive-their-honors-78989292/368898.html |archive-date=4 October 2012 |access-date=3 May 2015 |publisher=.voanews.com}}

= Medals =

The medal for the Nobel Prize in Physics is identical in design to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry medal.{{cite web|title=A unique gold medal|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/about/the-nobel-medals-and-the-medal-for-the-prize-in-economic-sciences/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411152140/https://historical.ha.com/itm/miscellaneous/georg-wittig-nobel-prize-medal-in-chemistry-received-in-1979-together-with-four-additional-medals/a/6165-49227.s|archive-date=11 April 2017|publisher=Nobel Foundation|access-date=20 June 2023}}{{cite web|title=The Nobel Prize medals in physics and chemistry|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/facts/the-nobel-medal-for-physics-and-chemistry/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331125610/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/facts/the-nobel-medal-for-physics-and-chemistry/|archive-date=31 March 2023|publisher=Nobel Foundation|access-date=20 June 2023}} The reverse of the physics and chemistry medals depicts the Goddess of Nature in the form of Isis as she emerges from clouds holding a cornucopia. The Genius of Science holds the veil which covers Nature's "cold and austere face". It was designed by Erik Lindberg and is manufactured by Svenska Medalj in Eskilstuna. It is inscribed "Inventas vitam iuvat excoluisse per artes" ("It is beneficial to have improved (human) life through discovered arts"), an adaptation of "inventas aut qui vitam excoluere per artes" from line 663 of book 6 of the Aeneid by the Roman poet Virgil.{{cite web|title=The Nobel Prize medal in physiology or medicine|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/facts/the-nobel-medal-for-physiology-or-medicine/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416152940/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/facts/the-nobel-medal-for-physiology-or-medicine/|archive-date=16 April 2023|publisher=Nobel Foundation|access-date=20 June 2023}} A plate below the figures is inscribed with the name of the recipient. The text "REG. ACAD. SCIENT. SUEC." denoting the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is inscribed on the reverse.

= Diplomas =

File:Nobel Pierre et Marie Curie 1.jpg and Pierre Curie]]

Nobel laureates receive a diploma directly from the hands of the King of Sweden. Each diploma is uniquely designed by the prize-awarding institutions for the laureate who receives it.{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/about/diplomas/|title=The Nobel Prize Diplomas|publisher=Nobelprize.org|access-date=3 May 2015|archive-date=13 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413221248/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/about/diplomas/|url-status=live}} The diploma contains a picture with the name of the laureate and a citation explaining their accomplishments.

= Award money =

At the awards ceremony, the laureate is given a document indicating the award sum. The amount of the cash award may differ from year to year, based on the funding available from the Nobel Foundation. For example, in 2009 the total cash awarded was 10 million Swedish Kronor (SEK) (US$1.4 million),{{cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/about/amounts/ |title=The Nobel Prize Amounts |publisher=Nobelprize.org |access-date=24 August 2014 |archive-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720111123/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/about/amounts/ |url-status=live }} but in 2012 following the Great Recession, the amount was 8 million SEK, or US$1.1 million.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/06/11/world/europe/nobel-prize-cut/index.html|title=Nobel prize amounts to be cut 20% in 2012|publisher=CNN|date=11 June 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709002611/http://articles.cnn.com/2012-06-11/world/world_europe_nobel-prize-cut_1_nobel-prize-nobel-foundation-alfred-nobel?_s=PM:EUROPE|archive-date=9 July 2012}} If there are two laureates in a particular category, the award grant is divided equally between the recipients, but if there are three, the awarding committee may opt to divide the grant equally, or award half to one recipient and a quarter to each of the two others.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/oct/05/nobel-prize-medicine-2009-award|title=Nobel prize for medicine shared by scientists for work on ageing and cancer | Science | guardian.co.uk|newspaper=Guardian|date=5 October 2009|access-date=15 January 2010|location=London|first=Ian|last=Sample|archive-date=13 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113060257/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/oct/05/nobel-prize-medicine-2009-award|url-status=live}}{{cite news |author=Sample |first=Ian |date=7 October 2008 |title=Three share Nobel prize for physics | Science | guardian.co.uk |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/oct/07/physics.nobel |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601140728/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/oct/07/physics.nobel |archive-date=1 June 2019 |access-date=10 February 2010 |newspaper=Guardian |location=London, England}}{{cite web |author=Landes |first=David |title=Americans claim Nobel economics prize – The Local |url=http://www.thelocal.se/22604/20091012/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120105624/http://www.thelocal.se/22604/20091012/ |archive-date=20 November 2012 |access-date=15 January 2010 |publisher=Thelocal.se}}{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2009/press.html |title=The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics – Press Release |publisher=Nobelprize.org |date=6 October 2009 |access-date=10 February 2010 |archive-date=19 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119013135/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2009/press.html |url-status=live }}

= Ceremony =

The committee and institution serving as the selection board for the prize typically announce the names of the laureates during the first week of October. The prize is then awarded at formal ceremonies held annually in Stockholm Concert Hall on 10 December, the anniversary of Nobel's death. The laureates receive a diploma, a medal, and a document confirming the prize amount.{{cite web | url=https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/archive/history/index.html | title=Nobel prize award ceremony | access-date=4 May 2015 | archive-date=24 April 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424214834/http://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/archive/history/index.html | url-status=live }}

References

= Citations =

= Sources =

Friedman, Robert Marc (2001). The Politics of Excellence: Behind the Nobel Prize in Science. New York & Stuttgart: VHPS (Times Books). {{ISBN|0-7167-3103-7}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7167-3103-0}}.
{{cite journal |doi=10.1179/030801802225003150 |title=Nobel century: A biographical analysis of physics laureates |date=2002 |last1=Hillebrand |first1=Claus D. |journal=Interdisciplinary Science Reviews |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=87–93 |bibcode=2002ISRv...27...87H }}
{{cite arXiv |eprint=1009.2634 |last1=Schmidhuber |first1=Juergen |title=Evolution of National Nobel Prize Shares in the 20th Century |date=2010 |class=physics.hist-ph }}
National Physics Nobel Prize shares 1901–2009 [http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/phys.html by citizenship at the time of the award]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140617082702/http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/phys.html |date=17 June 2014 }} and [http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/physnat.html by country of birth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140617082708/http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/physnat.html |date=17 June 2014 }}.
Lemmel, Birgitta. [https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/ "The Nobel Prize Medals and the Medal for the Prize in Economics"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815045159/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/ |date=15 August 2018 }}. nobelprize.org. Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 2006. (An article on the history of the design of the medals.)

External links

{{Spoken Wikipedia|Nobel_Prize_in_Physics_Recorded_by_Dimitri_O_Ledenyov_and_Viktor_O_Ledenyov.ogg|date=16 February 2016}}

[https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/ "All Nobel Laureates in Physics"] at the Nobel Foundation.
[https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/the-nobel-prize-award-ceremonies-and-banquets/ "The Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies and Banquets"] at the Nobel Foundation.
[https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/ "The Nobel Prize in Physics"] at the Nobel Foundation.

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Category:Physics awards

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