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The 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the still-waiting-for-mine dept.

azatht writes "The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2004 "for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction" jointly to David J. Gross, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, H. David Politzer California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, USThe 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics, and Frank Wilczek Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA."

4 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Some quicky info by gowen · · Score: 5, Informative

    Asymptotic freedom in the theory of the Strong Interaction

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    Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
  2. I need to catch up on my physics by FLOOBYDUST · · Score: 5, Informative

    It always amazes me how little I know when I look at what these folks do. http://web.mit.edu/physics/facultyandstaff/faculty /frank_wilczek.html/ Interesting reading.

  3. The Elegant Universe by MonkeyDev · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you want a good description of what Superstrings is all about, read Brian Greene's book "The Elegant Universe". It's about superstrings, hidden dimensions, and the quest for the ultimate theory. His book was also made into a PBS special a few months ago. Brian Greene is a master at making these complex issues understandable. And he's fun to watch too. I'm not sure how much pure research he does anymore, but he's probably one of the best things that's ever happened to science because he helps people like me understand what people like him do - and tells us why we should care!

  4. Re:Where will this take us ? by Theory+of+Everything · · Score: 5, Informative

    Is it some 100% theoretical stuff or will it have technical repercussions in the short term ?

    I just attended Frank Wilczek's press conference. He was asked this very question. His answer, in short, was "No." In medium, "The are no real-world applications I can think of." In long, "Maybe, someday, it could benefit nuclear power production because we better understand the nucleus. And there are side-benefits: the WWW was developed at CERN, and young people are inspired to science-related careers."