Nobel Prize in PhysicsNobel Prize in Physics20121TheNobelPrizeinPhysics2001wasawardedjointlytoEricA.Cornell,WolfgangKetterleandCarlE.WiemanfortheachievementofBose-Einsteincondensationindilutegasesofalkaliatoms,andforearlyfundamentalstudiesofthepropertiesofthecondensates.年，美国科学家埃里克康奈尔、卡尔维曼和德国科学家沃尔夫冈克特勒分享诺贝尔物理学奖。他们根据玻色爱因斯坦理论发现了一种新的物质状态“碱金属原子稀薄气体的玻色爱因斯坦凝聚”。TheNobelPrizeinPhysics2002wasdivided,onehalfjointlytoRaymondDavisJr.andMasatoshiKoshibaforpioneeringcontributionstoastrophysics,inparticularforthedetectionofcosmicneutrinosandtheotherhalftoRiccardoGiacconiforpioneeringcontributionstoastrophysics,whichhaveledtothediscoveryofcosmicX-raysources.年，美国科学家雷蒙德戴维斯、日本科学家小柴昌俊和美国科学家里卡尔多贾科尼获得诺贝尔物理学奖。他们在天体物理学领域作出了先驱性贡献，其中包括在“探测宇宙中微子”和“发现宇宙射线源”方面取得的成就。 2TheNobelPrizeinPhysics2003wasawardedjointlytoAlexeiA.Abrikosov,VitalyL.GinzburgandAnthonyJ.Leggettforpioneeringcontributionstothetheoryofsuperconductorsandsuperfluids.年，拥有俄罗斯和美国双重国籍的科学家阿列克谢阿布里科索夫、俄罗斯科学家维塔利金茨堡以及拥有英国和美国双重国籍的科学家安东尼莱格特因在超导体和超流体理论上作出了开创性贡献而获奖。TheNobelPrizeinPhysics2004wasawardedjointlytoDavidJ.Gross,H.DavidPolitzerandFrankWilczekforthediscoveryofasymptoticfreedominthetheoryofthestronginteraction.年，诺贝尔物理学奖归属美国科学家戴维格罗斯、戴维波利策和弗兰克维尔切克。他们发现了粒子物理强相互作用理论中的渐近自由现象。 3TheNobelPrizeinPhysics2005wasdivided,onehalfawardedtoRoyJ.Glauberforhiscontributiontothequantumtheoryofopticalcoherence,theotherhalfjointlytoJohnL.HallandTheodorW.Hnschfortheircontributionstothedevelopmentoflaser-basedprecisionspectroscopy,includingtheopticalfrequencycombtechnique“.年，美国科学家罗伊格劳伯、约翰霍尔和德国科学家特奥多尔亨施因为“对光学相干的量子理论的贡献”和对基于激光的精密光谱学发展作出了贡献而获奖。TheNobelPrizeinPhysics2006wasawardedjointlytoJohnC.MatherandGeorgeF.Smootfortheirdiscoveryoftheblackbodyformandanisotropyofthecosmicmicrowavebackgroundradiation“年，美国科学家约翰马瑟和乔治斯穆特因发现了宇宙微波背景辐射的黑体形式和各向异性而获奖。4TheNobelPrizeinPhysics2007wasawardedjointlytoAlbertFertandPeterGrnbergforthediscoveryofGiantMagnetoresistance“年，法国科学家阿尔贝费尔和德国科学家彼得格林贝格尔因发现“巨磁电阻”效应而获诺贝尔物理学奖。TheNobelPrizeinPhysics2008wasdivided,onehalfawardedtoYoichiroNambuforthediscoveryofthemechanismofspontaneousbrokensymmetryinsubatomicphysics,theotherhalfjointlytoMakotoKobayashiandToshihideMaskawaforthediscoveryoftheoriginofthebrokensymmetrywhichpredictstheexistenceofatleastthreefamiliesofquarksinnature.年诺贝尔物理学奖获奖者为美国籍科学家南部阳一郎和日本科学家小林诚、益川敏英。南部阳一郎的贡献是发现了亚原子物理学中的自发对称性破缺机制，而小林诚和益川敏英的贡献是发现了有关对称性破缺的起源。 5TheNobelPrizeinPhysics2009wasdivided,onehalfawardedtoCharlesK.Kaoforgroundbreakingachievementsconcerningthetransmissionoflightinfibersforopticalcommunication,theotherhalfjointlytoWillardS.BoyleandGeorgeE.SmithfortheinventionofanimagingsemiconductorcircuittheCCDsensor.年诺贝尔物理学奖获奖者为英国华裔科学家高锟以及美国科学家威拉德博伊尔和乔治史密斯。高锟获奖是由于在“有关光在纤维中的传输以用于光学通信方面”作出了突破性成就，而两位美国科学家的主要成就是发明半导体成像器件电荷耦合器件（）图像传感器。TheNobelPrizeinPhysics2010wasawardedjointlytoAndreGeimandKonstantinNovoselovforgroundbreakingexperimentsregardingthetwo-dimensionalmaterialgraphene年诺贝尔物理学奖获奖者为英国曼彻斯特大学科学家安德烈海姆和康斯坦丁诺沃肖洛夫。他们在年制成石墨烯材料。石墨烯是目前已知材料中最薄的一种，被普遍认为会最终替代硅，从而引发电子工业的再次革命。6TheNobelPrizeinPhysics2011wasdivided,onehalfawardedtoSaulPerlmutter,theotherhalfjointlytoBrianP.SchmidtandAdamG.Riess“forthediscoveryoftheacceleratingexpansionoftheUniversethroughobservationsofdistantsupernovae.2011年诺贝尔物理学奖揭晓，美国、澳大利亚三位科学家Saul Perlmutter、Brian P. Schmidt和Adam G. Riess获奖。获奖理由是“通过观测遥远超新星发现宇宙的加速膨胀”。其中，Saul Perlmutter独享一半奖金，Brian P. Schmidt和Adam G. Riess分享另一半。 TheNobelPrizeinPhysics2012wasawardedjointlytoSergeHarocheandDavidJ.Winelandforground-breakingexperimentalmethodsthatenablemeasuringandmanipulationofindividualquantumsystems 2012年诺贝尔物理学奖揭晓，法国科学家塞尔日阿罗什(Serge Haroche)与美国科学家大卫维因兰德(David Wineland)获奖。获奖理由是“发现测量和操控单个量子系统的突破性实验方法”。二人将平均分享800万瑞典克朗奖金。 7Andre GeimBorn:1958,Sochi,RussiaAffiliation at the time of the award:UniversityofManchester,Manchester,UnitedKingdomPrize motivation:forgroundbreakingexperimentsregardingthetwo-dimensionalmaterialgraphene8Konstantin NovoselovBorn:1974,NizhnyTagil,RussiaAffiliation at the time of the award:UniversityofManchester,Manchester,UnitedKingdomPrize motivation:forgroundbreakingexperimentsregardingthetwo-dimensionalmaterialgraphene9TwoRussian-bornscientistshavewontheNobelPrizeforPhysicsfortheirdiscoveryofamaterialthatcouldaffectcomputers,phones,securitydevicesandmedicalresearch.AndreGeimandKonstantinNovoselovsdiscoveryofgrapheneearnedthemthe2010NobelPrizeandtheirdiscoverycouldhavewide-ranginguses.10Itstartedwithasimpleexperiment:takesomegraphite-theblackstuffinthemiddleofapencil-andputapieceoftapeoverit.WhenthescientistsattheUniversityofManchesterdidthat,theyfoundthattheycoulddevelopamaterialthatconductselectricitywell,isextremelystrong,andisthinenoughtoseethrough.AndreGeimandKonstantinNovoselovsworkfocusedonthepropertiesofgrapheneandthatledtoTuesdaysannouncementbyStaffanNormarkinStockholm.TheRoyalSwedishAcademyofScienceshasdecidedtoawardtheNobelPrizeinPhysicsjointlytoProfessorAndreGeimandProfessorKonstantinNovoselov,bothattheUniversityofManchester,UnitedKingdom.AndtheAcademycitationrunsforgroundbreakingexperimentsregardingthetwo-dimensionalmaterialgraphene,hesaid.11ThisartistsrenditionillustratestheelectronenergylevelsingrapheneasrevealedbyauniqueNISTinstrumentThinnessisoneofgraphenespropertiesthatmakeitsouseful.Thematerialisonlyoneatomthick,butisextremelystrongforitssize.Italsoconductselectricityquicklyatroomtemperature.PhillipScheweiswiththeAmericanInstituteofPhysicsinCollegePark,Maryland.HetoldVOAthatgraphenesconductivityhasimplicationsforelectronicsandcomputers.Electrons,electricitymovethroughgrapheneveryquicklywithoutlosingmuchenergy.Andthatsalwaysagoodthing,foranelectronicproduct.YouwantelectronstomoveveryquicklybecauseallofourcomputersandotherelectronicequipmentlikeiPhonesdependonelectronicgizmosthatworkveryquickly,areverycompactandcheap.Andgraphenelooksasifitisgoingtofulfillallofthosecriteria,saidSchewe.12Schewesaysthatgraphenecouldalsobeusedtomaketransistorsinintegratedcircuitsthatcouldmakecomputerscheaperandfasteraswell.Graphene,ahoneycomb-shapedmoleculeofcarbonatoms,alsoisextremelystrongforitssize.PhillipSchewesaysitsmechanicalstrengthandlightweightmakethematerialusefultoreinforcefabricsandbuildingmaterials.Itstransparent,soifyousawalittlechipofit,itwouldlooklikeSaranwrapclearplasticwraponlymuchsmallerandthinner,hesaid.Butevenasinglesheetofitisverystrong.Andifyoucontriveteststocompareittootherstrongmaterials,itturnsouttobeabout100timesstrongerthansteel.13PhaetonAvourisisanIBMfellowandmonitorofnanotechnologyatIBM.HetoldVOAthatgraphenehasimplicationsforsecurityandmedicaltechnologyaswell.Wewanttousegrapheneforhighfrequencytransistors,saidAvouris.Andthesetransistorscanhaveapplicationsforallkindsofcommunications.WirelesscommunicationsfromcellphonestoWi-Fistationstoradarandalsotomedicalandsecurityimaging,avarietyofapplicationsthatwedontevenknowyetbecausewecannotgeneratethekindoffrequenciesthatgraphenecangenerate.Fortheirwork,GeimandNovoselovearn$1.5millionandagoldmedal.GeimsaidTuesdaythathewasshockedandsurprisedbytheannouncementbutplannedtogotoworkasusual.TheNobelcommitteewillalsohandoutawardsforchemistry,literature,thepeaceprizeandeconomics.14ThreeU.S.-bornscientistswontheNobelPrizeinphysicsTuesdayfordiscoveringthattheuniverseisexpandingatanacceleratingpace,astunningrevelationthatsuggeststhecosmoscouldbeheadedforacolder,bleakerfuture,nearlydevoidoflight.In1998,SaulPerlmutter,BrianSchmidtandAdamRiesspresentedfindingsthatoverturnedtheconventionalideathattheexpansionwasslowing13.7billionyearsafterthebigbang.Theirdiscoveryraisedaquestion:Whatispushingtheuniverseapart?Scientistshavelabeleditdarkenergy,butnobodyknowswhatitis.15Saul Perlmutter(1959-)U.S.citizen.Born1959USA.Ph.D.1986fromUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,USA.Prof.ofAstrophysics,LawrenceBerkeleyNationalLaboratoryandUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,CA,USA.HeadoftheSupernovaCosmologyProject.Thisproject,alongwiththeHigh-zSupernovaSearch,discoveredtheacceleratingexpansionoftheuniverse.HeisalsoprincipalinvestigatoroftheSuperNova/AccelerationProbe(SNAP)project.16Adam G. Riess (1969-)Dr.AdamG.RiessisaProfessorofAstronomyandPhysicsattheJohnsHopkinsUniversityandaSeniormemberoftheScienceStaffattheSpaceTelescopeScienceInstitute,bothinBaltimore,MD.In1998Dr.RiessledastudyfortheHigh-zTeamwhichprovidedthefirstdirectandpublishedevidencethattheexpansionoftheUniversewasacceleratingandfilledwithDarkEnergy(Riessetal.1998,AJ,116,1009),aresultwhich,togetherwiththeSupernovaCosmologyProjectsresult,wascalledtheBreakthroughDiscoveryoftheYearbyScienceMagazinein1998.17Brian Schmidt(1967-)U.S.andAustraliancitizen.Born1967inMissoula,MT,USA.Ph.D.1993fromHarvardUniversity,USA.HeadoftheHigh-zSupernovaSearchTeam,DistinguishedProfessor,AustralianNationalUniversity,WestonCreek,Australia.Heworksinseveralareasofastronomy,mostnotablywithexplodingstarscalledsupernovae.ButhealsochasesafterGammaRayBursts,andisheadingaprojecttobuildanewTelescopewhichwillmaptheSouthernSkycalledSkyMapper.18Ever since the discovery of the radiation glow left over from the initial hot, dense state of the Universe - the cosmic microwave background - the Big Bang has proven to be the best description of the early Universe. 19Because your intuition tells you that, sure, the Universe is expanding now, but gravity is an attractive force. Starting from a hot, dense, expanding Universe, you can easily imagine three different cases for its fate. 20Perhaps the Universe begins expanding quickly, but theres a tremendous amount of matter in it! If theres enough matter, perhaps your Universe will expand initially, with all the galaxies moving farther apart for some time, but gravity is dominant enough to halt the expansions, and even reverse it! In this case, the Universe will recollapse on itself, ending in a fiery demise known as the Big Crunch. Perhaps the opposite is true; perhaps the Universe begins expanding quickly but there isnt nearly enough matter to halt and reverse the expansion. In this case, the bound structures in our Universe - galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and everything contained within them - will all continue to expand away from one another into an infinite abyss of space. Although the expansion rate continues to drop and slow, it never reaches zero, and can never reverse itself. This coasting Universe case is known as either the Big Freeze or the heat death of the Universe; an isolated, icy fate. Or, I suppose, you could imagine the Goldilocks case, where putting just one more atom in the Universe would give it enough gravitational mass to stop its expansion and recollapse, but instead the expansion rate asymptotes towards zero, never quite getting there.Discover the fate of Universe, Win a Nobel PrizeDiscover the fate of Universe, Win a Nobel Prize21 Each of these cases assumes that the Universe contains matter and radiation, and the geometry of the Universe is simply determined by their presence, and of course by the laws of general relativity. 22Each of these cases for the Universe would have a different expansion history, so that if we looked at faraway objects (and hence also looked back in time), we could measure just exactly how the Universe has expanded over its lifetime, and hence what its fate was. And the tool for doing this was none other than the Hubble Space Telescope, capable of making incredible, precise measurements farther away than any other instrument. In the late 1990s, there were two teams - the High-z Supernova Search and the Supernova Cosmology Project - that went out and made the crucial measurements. 23 Type Ia supernovae are so useful because their light-curves - how their brightnesses evolve over time - are so well-understood. If you watch a type Ia supernova over a long enough time period, you can determine what the intrinsic brightness of this event was. And because you also observed the apparent brightness of the supernova, you can determine how far away it is! Combine that information with the observed redshift (i.e., how fast its expanding away from us), and thats what it takes to determine how the Universe has expanded throughout its history. And as far back as you can accurately measure these supernovae, thats as far back as you can know the Universes expansion history. So these two teams, using the Hubble Space Telescope, set out to measure these distant supernovae as accurately as possible. In the graph below - from the Supernova Cosmology Project - there are three black lines: the top one corresponds to a “coasting” Universe, the middle one to a “critical” Universe, and the lowest one to a “recollapsing” Universe. So whats our fate? 24The disturbing answer is none of them! What both teams found in 1998 was that the expansion rate will not approach zero, even an infinite time into the future, but will always remain some significant positive number! 25when you put together the results of these supernova teams with the other great cosmological observations - that of large-scale-strcture (BAO, above) and the cosmic microwave background (CMB, above) - you find that, in fact, the Universe is dominated by this dark energy. Around 70-75% of the total energy density in the Universe today is given by this dark energy!26It means we live in an accelerating Universe, one in which the objects which are not gravitationally bound to us right now (i.e., not in the local group) will eventually speed away from us and accelerate out of the Universe we can observe. 27The most distant galaxies and clusters are already doing this! And it was the supernova data collected by these two teams that allowed us to discover the fate of our Universe. 28Nobel Prize in Physics 2012Nobel Prize in Physics 2012Haroche worked in the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) as a research scientist from 1967 to 1975, and spent a year (19721973) as a visiting post-doc in Stanford University, in Arthur Leonard Schawlows team. In 1975 he moved to a professor position at Paris VI University. At the same time he taught in other institutions, in particular at the cole polytechnique (19731984), Harvard University (1981), and Yale University (19841993). He was head of the Physics department at the cole normale suprieure from 1994 to 2000.Since 2001, Haroche has been a Professor at the Collge de France and holds the Chair of Quantum Physics. He is a member of the French Physical Society, the European Physical society and a fellow and member of the American Physical Society.In September 2012, Serge Haroche was elected by his peers to the position of administrator of the Collge de France.29Nobel Prize in Physics 2012Nobel Prize in Physics 2012Wineland graduated from Encina High School in Sacramento, California in 1961.1 He received his bachelors degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1965 and his PhD in 1970 working under Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr. at Harvard University. His doctoral dissertation is entitled The Atomic Deuterium Maser. He then performed Postdoctoral Research in Hans Dehmelts group at the University of Washington where he investigated ions trap and tested the Electromagnetic-Dynamic behavior of these subjects, before joining the National Bureau of Standards in 1975 where he started the ion storage group, now at NIST. He is also a faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder.Wineland is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Optical Society, and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1992. He jointly wins with French physicist Serge Haroche the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics “for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems.”30Particle control in a quantum worldParticle control in a quantum worldSerge Haroche and David J. Wineland have independently invented and developed methods for measuring and manipulating individual particles while preserving their quantum-mechanical nature, in ways that were previously thought unattainable.The Nobel Laureates have opened the door to a new era of experimentation with quantum physics by demonstrating the direct observation of individual quantum particles without destroying them. For single particles of light or matter the laws of classical physics cease to apply and quantum physics takes over. But single particles are not easily isolated from their surrounding environment and they lose their mysterious quantum properties as soon as they interact with the outside world. Thus many seemingly bizarre phenomena predicted by quantum physics could not be directly observed, and researchers could only carry out thought experiments that might in principle manifest these bizarre phenomena.31Particle control in a quantum worldParticle control in a quantum worldThrough their ingenious laboratory methods Haroche and Wineland together with their research groups have managed to measure and control very fragile quantum states, which were previously thought inaccessible for direct observation. The new methods allow them to examine, control and count the particles.Their methods have many things in common. David Wineland traps electrically charged atoms, or ions, controlling and measuring them with light, or photons.Serge Haroche takes the opposite approach: he controls and measures trapped photons, or particles of light, by sending atoms through a trap.Both Laureates work in the field of quantum optics studying the fundamental interaction between light and matter, a field which has seen considerable progress since the mid-1980s. Their ground-breaking methods have enabled this field of research to take the very first steps towards building a new type of super fast computer based on quantum physics. Perhaps the quantum computer will change our everyday lives in this century in the same radical way as the classical computer did in the last century. The research has also led to the construction of extremely precise clocks that could become the future basis for a new standard of time, with more than hundred-fold greater precision than present-day caesium clocks.32