Nobel Prize in Physics

The Nobel Prize in Physics
Awarded for	Outstanding contributions in Physics
Presented by	Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Country	Sweden
First awarded	1901
Official website	nobelprize.org

Wilhelm Röntgen (1845–1923), the first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics.

The Nobel Prize in Physics (Swedish: Nobelpriset i fysik) is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The first Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, a German, "in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays (or x-rays)." This award is administered by the Nobel Foundation and widely regarded as the most prestigious award that a scientist can receive in physics. It is presented in Stockholm at an annual ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.

Background

Alfred Nobel requested in his last will and testament that his money be used to create a series of prizes for those who confer the "greatest benefit on mankind" in physics, chemistry, peace, physiology or medicine, and literature.^[1][2] Though Nobel wrote several wills during his lifetime, the last was written a little over a year before he died, and signed at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris on 27 November 1895.^[3][4] Nobel bequeathed 94% of his total assets, 31 million Swedish kronor (US$186 million in 2008), to establish and endow the five Nobel Prizes.^[5] Due to the level of skepticism surrounding the will it was not until April 26, 1897 that it was approved by the Storting (the Norwegian Parliament).^[6][7] 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 shortly after the will was approved. The prize-awarding organisations followed: the Karolinska Institutet on June 7, the Swedish Academy on June 9, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on June 11.^[8][9] The Nobel Foundation then reached an agreement on guidelines for how the Nobel Prize should be awarded. In 1900, the Nobel Foundation's newly created statutes were promulgated by King Oscar II.^[7][10][11] According to Nobel's will, The Royal Swedish Academy of sciences were to award the Prize in Physics.^[11]

Nomination and selection

A maximum of three Nobel laureates and two different works may be selected for the Nobel Prize in Physics.^[12] Compared with some other Nobel Prizes, the nomination and selection process for the prize in Physics is long and rigorous. This is a key reason it has grown in importance over the years to become the most important prize in Physics.^[13]

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. In the first stage, several thousand people are asked to nominate candidates. These names are scrutinized and discussed by experts until the choice is made.

Forms are sent to about three thousand individuals to invite them to submit nominations. 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. In practice, some nominees do become known. It is also common for publicists to make such a claim, founded or not.

The nominations are screened by committee, and a list is produced of approximately two hundred preliminary candidates. This list is forwarded to selected experts in the field. They narrow it down to approximately fifteen names. The committee submits a report with recommendations to the appropriate institution.

While posthumous nominations are not permitted, awards can be made if the individual died in the months between the decision of the prize committee (typically in October) and the ceremony in December. Prior to 1974, posthumous awards were permitted if the recipient had died after being nominated.^[14]

The Nobel Prize in Physics requires that the significance of achievements being recognized is "tested by time." In practice it 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 approach, 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 may have died by the time the impact of their work is appreciated.^[15][16][17]

Prizes

A Physics Nobel Prize laureate earns a gold medal, a diploma bearing a citation, and a sum of money.^[18] The amount of money awarded depends on the income of the Nobel Foundation that year.^[19] If a prize is awarded to more than one laureate, the money is either split evenly among them or, for three laureates, it may be divided into a half and two quarters.^[20] If a prize is awarded jointly to two or more laureates, the money is split among them.^[20]

Medals

The Nobel Prize medals, minted by Myntverket^[21] in Sweden and the Mint of Norway since 1902, are registered trademarks of the Nobel Foundation. Each medal has an image of Alfred Nobel in left profile on the obverse (front side of the medal). The Nobel Prize medals for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature have identical obverses, showing the image of Alfred Nobel and the years of his birth and death (1833–1896). Nobel's portrait also appears on the obverse of the Nobel Peace Prize medal and the Medal for the Prize in Economics, but with a slightly different design.^[22][23] The image on the reverse of a medal varies according to the institution awarding the prize. The reverse sides of the Nobel Prize medals for Chemistry and Physics share the same design.^[24]

Diplomas

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 that receives it.^[25] The diploma contains a picture and text which states the name of the laureate and normally a citation of why they received the prize.^[25]

Award money

The laureate is also given a sum of money when they receive the Nobel Prize in the form of a document confirming the amount awarded; in 2009, the monetary award was 10 million SEK (US$1.4 million).^[19] The amount may differ depending on how much money the Nobel Foundation can award that year. If there are two winners in a particular category, the award grant is divided equally between the recipients. If there are three, the awarding committee has the option of dividing the grant equally, or awarding one-half to one recipient and one-quarter to each of the others.^{[26][27][28][29]}

Ceremony

The committee and institution serving as the selection board for the prize typically announce the names of the laureates in October. The prize is then awarded at formal ceremonies held annually on 10 December, the anniversary of Nobel's death. "The highlight of the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm is when each Nobel Laureate steps forward to receive the prize from the hands of His Majesty the King of Sweden. ... Under the eyes of a watching world, the Nobel Laureate receives three things: a diploma, a medal and a document confirming the prize amount" ("What the Nobel Laureates Receive").

The Nobel Banquet is held every year in Stockholm City Hall in connection with the Nobel Prize.^[30]

See also

• List of Nobel laureates in Physics
• Sakurai Prize, presented by the American Physical Society

Notes

1. ^ "History – Historic Figures: Alfred Nobel (1833–1896)". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nobel_alfred.shtml. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
2. ^ "Guide to Nobel Prize". Britannica.com. http://www.britannica.com/nobelprize/article-9056008. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
3. ^ Ragnar Sohlman: 1983, Page 7
4. ^ von Euler, U.S. (6 June 1981). "The Nobel Foundation and its Role for Modern Day Science" (PDF). Die Naturwissenschaften (Springer-Verlag). http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?code=xu7j67w616m06488&size=largest. Retrieved 21 January 2010. 
5. ^ "The Will of Alfred Nobel", nobelprize.org. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
6. ^ "The Nobel Foundation – History". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobelfoundation/history/lemmel/index.html. Retrieved 2010-01-15. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ ^{a b} Agneta Wallin Levinovitz: 2001, Page 13
8. ^ "Nobel Prize History —". Infoplease.com. 1999-10-13. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/nobel-prize-history.html. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
9. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. "Nobel Foundation (Scandinavian organisation) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/416852/Nobel-Foundation. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
10. ^ AFP, "Alfred Nobel's last will and testament", The Local(5 October 2009): accessed 20 January 2010.
11. ^ ^{a b} "Nobel Prize" (2007), in Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed 15 January 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online:

    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.

12. ^ "What the Nobel Laureates Receive". Retrieved November 1, 2007. Archived October 30, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
13. ^ "The Nobel Prize Selection Process", Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed November 5, 2007 (Flowchart).
14. ^ FAQ nobelprize.org
15. ^ "web-041003.dvi" (PDF). http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/2004/ecoadv.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-05. 
16. ^ Gingras, Yves; Wallace, Matthew L. (2009). "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)". Scientometrics 82 (2): 401. doi:10.1007/s11192-009-0035-9. 
17. ^ Nature Chemistry. Bibcode 2009NatCh...1..509.. doi:10.1038/nchem.372. 
18. ^ Tom Rivers (2009-12-10). "2009 Nobel Laureates Receive Their Honors | Europe| English". .voanews.com. http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/europe/2009-Nobel-Laureates-Receive-Their-Honors-78989292.html. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
19. ^ ^{a b} "The Nobel Prize Amounts". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/amounts.html. Retrieved 2010-01-15. ^{[dead link]}
20. ^ ^{a b} "Nobel Prize – Prizes" (2007), in Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed 15 January 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online:

    Each Nobel Prize consists of a gold medal, a diploma bearing a citation, and a sum of money, the amount of which depends on the income of the Nobel Foundation. (A sum of $1,300,000 accompanied each prize in 2005.) A Nobel Prize is either given entirely to one person, divided equally between two persons, or shared by three persons. In the latter case, each of the three persons can receive a one-third share of the prize or two together can receive a one-half share.

21. ^ "Medalj – ett traditionellt hantverk" (in Swedish). Myntverket. http://www.myntverket.se/products.asp?lang=sv&page=3. Retrieved 2007-12-15. 
22. ^ "The Nobel Prize for Peace", "Linus Pauling: Awards, Honors, and Medals", Linus Pauling and The Nature of the Chemical Bond: A Documentary History, the Valley Library, Oregon State University. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
23. ^ "The Nobel Medals". Ceptualinstitute.com. http://www.ceptualinstitute.com/galleria/awards/nobel/nobelmedals.html. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
24. ^ "Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Front and back images of the medal. 1954", "Source: Photo by Eric Arnold. Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers. Honors and Awards, 1954h2.1", "All Documents and Media: Pictures and Illustrations", Linus Pauling and The Nature of the Chemical Bond: A Documentary History, the Valley Library, Oregon State University. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
25. ^ ^{a b} "The Nobel Prize Diplomas". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/diplomas/. Retrieved 2010-01-15. ^{[dead link]}
26. ^ Sample, Ian (2009-10-05). "Nobel prize for medicine shared by scientists for work on ageing and cancer | Science | guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/05/nobel-prize-medicine-2009-award. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
27. ^ Ian Sample, Science correspondent (2008-10-07). "Three share Nobel prize for physics | Science | guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/oct/07/physics.nobel. Retrieved 2010-02-10. 
28. ^ David Landes. "Americans claim Nobel economics prize – The Local". Thelocal.se. http://www.thelocal.se/22604/20091012/. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
29. ^ "The 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics - Press Release". Nobelprize.org. 2009-10-06. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2009/press.html. Retrieved 2010-02-10. 
30. ^ Nobel Prize Foundation Website

References

• Friedman, Robert Marc (2001). The Politics of Excellence: Behind the Nobel Prize in Science. New York & Stuttgart: VHPS (Times Books). ISBN 0716731037, ISBN 978-0716731030.
• Gill, Mohammad (March 10, 2005). "Prize and Prejudice". Chowk magazine.
• Hillebrand, Claus D. (June 2002). "Nobel century: a biographical analysis of physics laureates". Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 27.2: 87-93.
• Schmidhuber, Jürgen (2010). Evolution of National Nobel Prize Shares in the 20th Century at arXiv:1009.2634v1 with graphics: National Physics Nobel Prize shares 1901-2009 by citizenship at the time of the award and by country of birth.
• Lemmel, Birgitta. "The Nobel Prize Medals and the Medal for the Prize in Economics". nobelprize.org. Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 2006. (An article on the history of the design of the medals.)
• "What the Nobel Laureates Receive". nobelprize.org. Copyright © Nobel Web AB 2007.

External links

• "All Nobel Laureates in Physics" - Index webpage on the official site of the Nobel Foundation.
• "The Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies" – Official hyperlinked webpage of the Nobel Foundation.
• "The Nobel Prize in Physics" - Official webpage of the Nobel Foundation.
• "The Nobel Prize Medal for Physics and Chemistry" – Official webpage of the Nobel Foundation.