List of Nobel Prizes in Physics
Heiko Possel
/favicon.ico
The following list contains a chronological overview of the winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics and the rationale of the selection committee.

2020

Roger Penrose âfor the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativityâ

Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez âfor the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxyâ

2019

âfor contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earthâs place in the cosmosâ

James Peebles âfor theoretical discoveries in physical cosmologyâ

Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz âfor the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type starâ

2018

âfor groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physicsâ

Arthur Ashkin âfor the optical tweezers and their application to biological systemsâ

GÃ©rard Mourou and Donna Strickland âfor their method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulsesâ

2017

Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne âfor decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational wavesâ

2016

David J. Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane and J. Michael Kosterlitz âfor theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matterâ

2015

Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald âfor the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have massâ

2014

Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura âfor the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sourcesâ

2013

FranÃ§ois Englert and Peter W. Higgs âfor the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERNâs Large Hadron Colliderâ

2012

Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland âfor ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systemsâ

2011

Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt and Adam G. Riess âfor the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovaeâ

2010

Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov âfor groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material grapheneâ

2009

Charles Kuen Kao âfor groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communicationâ

Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith âfor the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit â the CCD sensorâ

2008

Yoichiro Nambu âfor the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physicsâ

Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa âfor the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in natureâ

2007

Albert Fert and Peter GrÃ¼nberg âfor the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistanceâ

2006

John C. Mather and George F. Smoot âfor their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiationâ

2005

Roy J. Glauber âfor his contribution to the quantum theory of optical coherenceâ

John L. Hall and Theodor W. HÃ¤nsch âfor their contributions to the development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb techniqueâ

2004

David J. Gross, H. David Politzer and Frank Wilczek âfor the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interactionâ

2003

Alexei A. Abrikosov, Vitaly L. Ginzburg and Anthony J. Leggett âfor pioneering contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluidsâ

2002

Raymond Davis Jr. and Masatoshi Koshiba âfor pioneering contributions to astrophysics, in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinosâ

Riccardo Giacconi âfor pioneering contributions to astrophysics, which have led to the discovery of cosmic X-ray sourcesâ

2001

Eric A. Cornell, Wolfgang Ketterle and Carl E. Wieman âfor the achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute gases of alkali atoms, and for early fundamental studies of the properties of the condensatesâ

2000

âfor basic work on information and communication technologyâ

Zhores I. Alferov and Herbert Kroemer âfor developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and opto-electronicsâ

Jack S. Kilby âfor his part in the invention of the integrated circuitâ

1999

Gerardus ât Hooft and Martinus J.G. Veltman âfor elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions in physicsâ

1998

Robert B. Laughlin, Horst L. StÃ¶rmer and Daniel C. Tsui âfor their discovery of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitationsâ

1997

Steven Chu, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and William D. Phillips âfor development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser lightâ

1996

David M. Lee, Douglas D. Osheroff and Robert C. Richardson âfor their discovery of superfluidity in helium-3â

1995

âfor pioneering experimental contributions to lepton physicsâ

Martin L. Perl âfor the discovery of the tau leptonâ

Frederick Reines âfor the detection of the neutrinoâ

1994

âfor pioneering contributions to the development of neutron scattering techniques for studies of condensed matterâ

Bertram N. Brockhouse âfor the development of neutron spectroscopyâ

Clifford G. Shull âfor the development of the neutron diffraction techniqueâ

1993

Russell A. Hulse and Joseph H. Taylor Jr. âfor the discovery of a new type of pulsar, a discovery that has opened up new possibilities for the study of gravitationâ

1992

Georges Charpak âfor his invention and development of particle detectors, in particular the multiwire proportional chamberâ

1991

Pierre-Gilles de Gennes âfor discovering that methods developed for studying order phenomena in simple systems can be generalized to more complex forms of matter, in particular to liquid crystals and polymersâ

1990

Jerome I. Friedman, Henry W. Kendall and Richard E. Taylor âfor their pioneering investigations concerning deep inelastic scattering of electrons on protons and bound neutrons, which have been of essential importance for the development of the quark model in particle physicsâ

1989

Norman F. Ramsey âfor the invention of the separated oscillatory fields method and its use in the hydrogen maser and other atomic clocksâ

Hans G. Dehmelt and Wolfgang Paul âfor the development of the ion trap techniqueâ

1988

Leon M. Lederman, Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger âfor the neutrino beam method and the demonstration of the doublet structure of the leptons through the discovery of the muon neutrinoâ

1987

J. Georg Bednorz and K. Alexander MÃ¼ller âfor their important break-through in the discovery of superconductivity in ceramic materialsâ

1986

Ernst Ruska âfor his fundamental work in electron optics, and for the design of the first electron microscopeâ

Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer âfor their design of the scanning tunneling microscopeâ

1985

Klaus von Klitzing âfor the discovery of the quantized Hall effectâ

1984

Carlo Rubbia and Simon van der Meer âfor their decisive contributions to the large project, which led to the discovery of the field particles W and Z, communicators of weak interactionâ

1983

Subramanyan Chandrasekhar âfor his theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the starsâ

William Alfred Fowler âfor his theoretical and experimental studies of the nuclear reactions of importance in the formation of the chemical elements in the universeâ

1982

Kenneth G. Wilson âfor his theory for critical phenomena in connection with phase transitionsâ

1981

Nicolaas Bloembergen and Arthur Leonard Schawlow âfor their contribution to the development of laser spectroscopyâ

Kai M. Siegbahn âfor his contribution to the development of high-resolution electron spectroscopyâ

1980

James Watson Cronin and Val Logsdon Fitch âfor the discovery of violations of fundamental symmetry principles in the decay of neutral K-mesonsâ

1979

Sheldon Lee Glashow, Abdus Salam and Steven Weinberg âfor their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including, inter alia, the prediction of the weak neutral currentâ

1978

Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa âfor his basic inventions and discoveries in the area of low-temperature physicsâ

Arno Allan Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson âfor their discovery of cosmic microwave background radiationâ

1977

Philip Warren Anderson, Sir Nevill Francis Mott and John Hasbrouck Van Vleck âfor their fundamental theoretical investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systemsâ

1976

Burton Richter and Samuel Chao Chung Ting âfor their pioneering work in the discovery of a heavy elementary particle of a new kindâ

1975

Aage Niels Bohr, Ben Roy Mottelson and Leo James Rainwater âfor the discovery of the connection between collective motion and particle motion in atomic nuclei and the development of the theory of the structure of the atomic nucleus based on this connectionâ

1974

Sir Martin Ryle and Antony Hewish âfor their pioneering research in radio astrophysics: Ryle for his observations and inventions, in particular of the aperture synthesis technique, and Hewish for his decisive role in the discovery of pulsarsâ

1973

Leo Esaki and Ivar Giaever âfor their experimental discoveries regarding tunneling phenomena in semiconductors and superconductors, respectivelyâ

Brian David Josephson âfor his theoretical predictions of the properties of a supercurrent through a tunnel barrier, in particular those phenomena which are generally known as the Josephson effectsâ

1972

John Bardeen, Leon Neil Cooper and John Robert Schrieffer âfor their jointly developed theory of superconductivity, usually called the BCS-theoryâ

1971

Dennis Gabor âfor his invention and development of the holographic methodâ

1970

Hannes Olof GÃ¶sta AlfvÃ©n âfor fundamental work and discoveries in magnetohydro-dynamics with fruitful applications in different parts of plasma physicsâ

Louis EugÃ¨ne FÃ©lix NÃ©el âfor fundamental work and discoveries concerning antiferromagnetism and ferrimagnetism which have led to important applications in solid state physicsâ

1969

Murray Gell-Mann âfor his contributions and discoveries concerning the classification of elementary particles and their interactionsâ

1968

Luis Walter Alvarez âfor his decisive contributions to elementary particle physics, in particular the discovery of a large number of resonance states, made possible through his development of the technique of using hydrogen bubble chamber and data analysisâ

1967

Hans Albrecht Bethe âfor his contributions to the theory of nuclear reactions, especially his discoveries concerning the energy production in starsâ

1966

Alfred Kastler âfor the discovery and development of optical methods for studying Hertzian resonances in atomsâ

1965

Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Julian Schwinger and Richard P. Feynman âfor their fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics, with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particlesâ

1964

Charles Hard Townes, Nicolay Gennadiyevich Basov and Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov âfor fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principleâ

1963

Eugene Paul Wigner âfor his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and application of fundamental symmetry principlesâ

Maria Goeppert Mayer and J. Hans D. Jensen âfor their discoveries concerning nuclear shell structureâ

1962

Lev Davidovich Landau âfor his pioneering theories for condensed matter, especially liquid heliumâ

1961

Robert Hofstadter âfor his pioneering studies of electron scattering in atomic nuclei and for his thereby achieved discoveries concerning the structure of the nucleonsâ

Rudolf Ludwig MÃ¶ssbauer âfor his researches concerning the resonance absorption of gamma radiation and his discovery in this connection of the effect which bears his nameâ

1960

Donald Arthur Glaser âfor the invention of the bubble chamberâ

1959

Emilio Gino SegrÃ¨ and Owen Chamberlain âfor their discovery of the antiprotonâ

1958

Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov, IlÂ´ja Mikhailovich Frank and Igor Yevgenyevich Tamm âfor the discovery and the interpretation of the Cherenkov effectâ

1957

Chen Ning Yang and Tsung-Dao (T.D.) Lee âfor their penetrating investigation of the so-called parity laws which has led to important discoveries regarding the elementary particlesâ

1956

William Bradford Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain âfor their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effectâ

1955

Willis Eugene Lamb âfor his discoveries concerning the fine structure of the hydrogen spectrumâ

Polykarp Kusch âfor his precision determination of the magnetic moment of the electronâ

1954

Max Born âfor his fundamental research in quantum mechanics, especially for his statistical interpretation of the wavefunctionâ

Walther Bothe âfor the coincidence method and his discoveries made therewithâ

1953

Frits Zernike âfor his demonstration of the phase contrast method, especially for his invention of the phase contrast microscopeâ

1952

Felix Bloch and Edward Mills Purcell âfor their development of new methods for nuclear magnetic precision measurements and discoveries in connection therewithâ

1951

Sir John Douglas Cockcroft and Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton âfor their pioneer work on the transmutation of atomic nuclei by artificially accelerated atomic particlesâ

1950

Cecil Frank Powell âfor his development of the photographic method of studying nuclear processes and his discoveries regarding mesons made with this methodâ

1949

Hideki Yukawa âfor his prediction of the existence of mesons on the basis of theoretical work on nuclear forcesâ

1948

Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett âfor his development of the Wilson cloud chamber method, and his discoveries therewith in the fields of nuclear physics and cosmic radiationâ

1947

Sir Edward Victor Appleton âfor his investigations of the physics of the upper atmosphere especially for the discovery of the so-called Appleton layerâ

1946

Percy Williams Bridgman âfor the invention of an apparatus to produce extremely high pressures, and for the discoveries he made therewith in the field of high pressure physicsâ

1945

Wolfgang Pauli âfor the discovery of the Exclusion Principle, also called the Pauli Principleâ

1944

Isidor Isaac Rabi âfor his resonance method for recording the magnetic properties of atomic nucleiâ

1943

Otto Stern âfor his contribution to the development of the molecular ray method and his discovery of the magnetic moment of the protonâ

1942

No Nobel Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1941

No Nobel Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1940

No Nobel Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1939

Ernest Orlando Lawrence âfor the invention and development of the cyclotron and for results obtained with it, especially with regard to artificial radioactive elementsâ

1938

Enrico Fermi âfor his demonstrations of the existence of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, and for his related discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutronsâ

1937

Clinton Joseph Davisson and George Paget Thomson âfor their experimental discovery of the diffraction of electrons by crystalsâ

1936

Victor Franz Hess âfor his discovery of cosmic radiationâ

Carl David Anderson âfor his discovery of the positronâ

1935

James Chadwick âfor the discovery of the neutronâ

1934

No Nobel Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1933

Erwin SchrÃ¶dinger and Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac âfor the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theoryâ

1932

Werner Karl Heisenberg âfor the creation of quantum mechanics, the application of which has, inter alia, led to the discovery of the allotropic forms of hydrogenâ

1931

No Nobel Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1930

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman âfor his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after himâ

1929

Prince Louis-Victor Pierre Raymond de Broglie âfor his discovery of the wave nature of electronsâ

1928

Owen Willans Richardson âfor his work on the thermionic phenomenon and especially for the discovery of the law named after himâ

1927

Arthur Holly Compton âfor his discovery of the effect named after himâ

Charles Thomson Rees Wilson âfor his method of making the paths of electrically charged particles visible by condensation of vapourâ

1926

Jean Baptiste Perrin âfor his work on the discontinuous structure of matter, and especially for his discovery of sedimentation equilibriumâ

1925

James Franck and Gustav Ludwig Hertz âfor their discovery of the laws governing the impact of an electron upon an atomâ

1924

Karl Manne Georg Siegbahn âfor his discoveries and research in the field of X-ray spectroscopyâ

1923

Robert Andrews Millikan âfor his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effectâ

1922

Niels Henrik David Bohr âfor his services in the investigation of the structure of atoms and of the radiation emanating from themâ

1921

Albert Einstein âfor his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effectâ

1920

Charles Edouard Guillaume âin recognition of the service he has rendered to precision measurements in Physics by his discovery of anomalies in nickel steel alloysâ

1919

Johannes Stark âfor his discovery of the Doppler effect in canal rays and the splitting of spectral lines in electric fieldsâ

1918

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck âin recognition of the services he rendered to the advancement of Physics by his discovery of energy quantaâ

1917

Charles Glover Barkla âfor his discovery of the characteristic RÃ¶ntgen radiation of the elementsâ

1916

No Nobel Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section.

1915

Sir William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg âfor their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-raysâ

1914

Max von Laue âfor his discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystalsâ

1913

Heike Kamerlingh Onnes âfor his investigations on the properties of matter at low temperatures which led, inter alia, to the production of liquid heliumâ

1912

Nils Gustaf DalÃ©n âfor his invention of automatic regulators for use in conjunction with gas accumulators for illuminating lighthouses and buoysâ

1911

Wilhelm Wien âfor his discoveries regarding the laws governing the radiation of heatâ

1910

Johannes Diderik van der Waals âfor his work on the equation of state for gases and liquidsâ

1909

Guglielmo Marconi and Karl Ferdinand Braun âin recognition of their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphyâ

1908

Gabriel Lippmann âfor his method of reproducing colours photographically based on the phenomenon of interferenceâ

1907

Albert Abraham Michelson âfor his optical precision instruments and the spectroscopic and metrological investigations carried out with their aidâ

1906

Joseph John Thomson âin recognition of the great merits of his theoretical and experimental investigations on the conduction of electricity by gasesâ

1905

Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard âfor his work on cathode raysâ

1904

Lord Rayleigh (John William Strutt) âfor his investigations of the densities of the most important gases and for his discovery of argon in connection with these studiesâ

1903

Antoine Henri Becquerel âin recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by his discovery of spontaneous radioactivityâ

Pierre Curie and Marie Curie, nÃ©e Sklodowska âin recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerelâ

1902

Hendrik Antoon Lorentz and Pieter Zeeman âin recognition of the extraordinary service they rendered by their researches into the influence of magnetism upon radiation phenomenaâ

1901

Wilhelm Conrad RÃ¶ntgen âin recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently named after himâ

The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded annually since 1901 and since 2017 has been endowed with 9 million Swedish kronor (approximately 884,000 euros). The selection of laureates is the responsibility of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The founder of the prize, Alfred Nobel, decreed in his will in 1895, which regulated the awarding of the prize, that the Nobel Prize in Physics should be awarded to "the person who has made the most important discovery or invention in the field of physics." The Nobel Prize is presented each year by the King of Sweden on the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, December 10.

Since the first Nobel Prize was awarded, the prize has been awarded a total of 114 times. A total of 215 physicists were honored, including 211 men (98 percent) and 4 women (2 percent). John Bardeen was the only one to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics twice. From 1901 until the last time in 1992, the prize was awarded 47 times undivided to one person. Since 1902, it has been divided 32 times between two people and 35 times between three. Six times the prize was not awarded, the last time in 1942.