2016 Physics Prize will be announced in:
132 days
Tuesday 4 October, 11:45 a.m.
Awards: 109 Prizes to 201 Laureates
Prizes to one Laureate only: 47
Awarded women: 2
"The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: /- - -/ one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics ..."(Excerpt from the will of Alfred Nobel)
Physics was the prize area which Alfred Nobel mentioned first in his will. At the end of the nineteenth century, many people considered physics as the foremost of the sciences, and perhaps Nobel saw it this way as well. His own research was also closely tied to physics.
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
Ill: © Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2015 was awarded jointly to Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald "for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass".
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The discovery that neutrinos are not massless makes a difference, says Professor Olga Botner, Member of the Nobel Committee for Physics, when interviewed about the importance of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics.
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An interview with Takaaki Kajita immediately following the announcement of the Physics Prize. Hear how he reacted when he got the call that he has been awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Interview and transcript
"It's ironic, in order to observe the sun you have to go kilometers under ground. That's not what you would expect." says Arthur B. McDonald, awarded the 2015 Physics Prize.
Interview and transcript
The Nobel Prizes were created just in time to enable the awards to cover many of the outstanding contributions that opened new areas of physics in this period.
More about the Physics Prizes during the past centuryNobel Prizes in Physics have been awarded between 1901-2015.
Physics Prizes have been given to one Laureate only.
women have been awarded the Physics Prize so far.
person, John Bardeen, has been awarded the Physics Prize twice.
years was the age of the youngest Physics Laureate ever, Lawrence Bragg, when he was awarded the 1915 Physics Prize together with his father.
is the average age of the Physics Laureates the year they were awarded the prize.
All facts and figures on the Nobel Prize in Physics
1989 Physics Laureate Norman F. Ramsey talks about the unexpected call from Stockholm.
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The Nobel Prize in Physics 2014 was awarded jointly to Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura.
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In this interview, Hiroshi Amano explains what brought him to science.
In his Nobel Lecture, Shuji Nakamura gave the background story of his invention.
The prize awarders decide the design of the Nobel Diplomas. Each diploma is a unique work of art.
Have a look at Isamu Akasaki's diploma
Transistors are devices that control the movement of electrons, and consequently, electricity. They are the major component in all digital circuits, including computer microprocessors which contain millions of microscopic transistors.
The Transistor in a Century of Electronics
William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain were awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for the invention of the transistor in 1947. John Bardeen is the only person awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice.
More about the Laureates
