EDITORIAL

NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICSHalf of this year's Nobel Prize in physics went to Ray Davis of the University of Pennsylvania and Masatoshi Koshiba of the University of Tokyo for using neutrinos to gain insight into the cosmos. The other half went to Riccardo Giacconi of Associated Universities Inc. for a 4-decade-long effort to view the universe with x-ray spectacles.

The current attempt is aimed to honor the first centennial of Johannes Diderik van der Waals (VDW) awarding Nobel Prize in Physics. The VDW theory of ordinary fluids is reviewed in the first part of the paper, where special effort is devoted to the equation of state and the law of corresponding states. In addition, a few mathematical features involving properties of cubic equations are discussed, for appreciating the intrinsic beauty of the VDW theory. A theory of astrophysical fluids is shortly reviewed in the second part of the paper, grounding on the tensor virial theorem for two-component systems, and an equation of state is formulated with a convenient choice of reduced variables. Additional effort is devoted to particular choices of density profiles, namely a simple guidance case and two cases of astrophysical interest. The related macroisothermal curves are found to be qualitatively similar to VDW isothermal curves below the critical threshold and, for sufficiently steep density profiles, a critical macroisothermal curve exists, with a single horizontal inflexion point. Under the working hypothesis of a phase transition (assumed to be gas-stars) for astrophysical fluids, similar to the vapour-liquid phase transition in ordinary fluids, the location of gas clouds, stellar systems, galaxies, cluster of galaxies, on the plane scanned by reduced variables, is tentatively assigned. A brief discussion shows how van der Waals' two great discoveries, namely a gas equation of state where tidal interactions between molecules are taken into account, and the law of corresponding states, related to microcosmos, find a counterpart with regard to macrocosmos. In conclusion, after more than a century since the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics, van der Waals' ideas are still valid and helpful to day for a full understanding of the universe.

Kai Manne Börje Siegbahn

This paper presents the history of the competition First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics organized by Poland, its development from a national workshop in 1991/92 to an international competition nowadays and its organization, as well as the results obtained by the participants.

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton, recognized their foundational contributions to artificial neural networks (ANNs) and machine learning. This paper introduces a novel Thermodynamic Hybrid Network that merges Hopfield networks' energy minimization capabilities with the probabilistic dynamics of Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBMs). Leveraging thermodynamic principles, this hybrid architecture addresses large-scale optimization challenges, such as the Traveling Salesman Problem and protein structure prediction, while overcoming the limitations of conventional ANNs. This approach bridges the gap between classical deterministic models and stochastic methods, opening the door to more efficient machine learning solutions across fields like computational biology, quantum computing, and materials science.

Carlson replies: Ruth Lewin Sime correctly points out the important contributions to the nuclear emulsion technique by Marietta Blau, which are unfortunately often forgotten. Blau, together with Hertha Wambacher, observed cosmic-ray-induced “stars” in 1937. In my article, I pointed out that many results of fundamental importance were indeed obtained using nuclear emulsions, in particular the discovery of the pion that earned Cecil Powell the 1950 Nobel Prize in Physics.In 1950 Blau and Wambacher were nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics for the method of exposing sets of emulsion plates at high altitude and for observing cosmic-ray-induced stars.11. Minutes of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Nobel Matters, Nobel Archives, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm (1950), p. 391. Among the other 28 nominees that year was Cecil Powell, who received 16 nominations.Contrary to what Sime says, the names of Blau and Wambacher are not absent from the “Nobel texts.” In its 1950 recommendation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Nobel Committee for Physics included as an enclosure a nine-page detailed and accurate account, written by committee member Axel Lindh,22. Minutes of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Nobel Matters, Nobel Archives, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm (1950), p. 132. on the work by Blau and Wambacher. Lindh wrote that without any doubt Blau and Wambacher were the first to use plates of emulsions to study cosmic rays and the first to use the technique to observe cosmic-ray-induced stars, a phenomenon earlier observed in cloud chambers. Lindh noted that Wambacher, in a 1938 paper,33. H. Wambacher, Phys. Z. 39, 883 (1926). wrote that E. G. Steinke was the one who had proposed using emulsions to study cosmic-ray stars. In his conclusion, Lindh acknowledged the pioneering work by Blau and Wambacher but noted that it was not of sufficient significance for a Nobel Prize.The committee report44. Minutes of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Nobel Matters, Nobel Archives, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm (1950), p. 81. discussing the nomination of Blau and Wambacher states that among the notable descriptions of progress made using the emulsion technique are a 1925 article in which Blau says that protons also can be observed and one by Blau and Wambacher in 1937 reporting cosmic-ray-induced stars. The report ends with the proposal to award the 1950 Nobel Prize in Physics to Powell.REFERENCESSection:ChooseTop of pageREFERENCES <<CITING ARTICLES1. Minutes of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Nobel Matters, Nobel Archives, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm (1950), p. 391. Google Scholar2. Minutes of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Nobel Matters, Nobel Archives, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm (1950), p. 132. Google Scholar3. H. Wambacher, Phys. Z. 39, 883 (1926). Google ScholarCrossref4. Minutes of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Nobel Matters, Nobel Archives, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm (1950), p. 81. Google Scholar© 2012 American Institute of Physics.

From biology to astrophysics, the transition from a disordered to an ordered state in any complex system proceeds through often nonlinear steps. The variability inherent in the transitions hampers researchers’ ability to predict where and how the systems will come to a resting state. J. Michael Kosterlitz, the Harrison E. Farnsworth Professor of Physics at Brown University, uses the mathematical field of topology to investigate these and other dynamic processes, drawing on five decades of expertise in theoretical condensed matter physics. In 2016, Kosterlitz, along with David J. Thouless and F. Duncan M. Haldane, received the Nobel Prize in Physics for work using topology to examine phases and phase transitions in matter. This research facilitates understanding of superconductivity and superfluidity and guides the development of quantum computers. PNAS recently spoke to Kosterlitz, who was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in April 2017, about his current research. J. Michael Kosterlitz. Image credit: Willis Peter Bilderback (Brown University, Providence, RI). > PNAS:Your Inaugural Article (1) demonstrates a method to understand systems that are out of equilibrium. Why is it important to study such systems? > Kosterlitz:Almost all real-world systems are not in equilibrium; they are perturbed by random or stochastic noise. Every experiment, too, has noise associated with it. …

Photovoltaic energy harvesting systems have a wide range of applications, from solar-powered spacecraft to solar-powered calculators. The discovery of the photoelectric effect was made around 1920 by outstanding physicists Max Planck and Albert Einstein. Max Planck received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of energy quanta, and Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. Light, Einstein said, is a beam of particles whose energies are related to their frequencies according to Planck’s formula. When that beam is directed at a metal, the photons collide with the atoms. If a photon’s frequency is sufficient to knock off an electron, the collision produces the photoelectric effect <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[1]</xref>.

ニュートリノとフレーバーの起源( ニュートリノの物理-小柴昌俊氏のノーベル物理学賞受賞を記念して-)

Dictionary of Technical Terms (&lt;Special Issue&gt;Physics of Neutrino - Commemorating Masatoshi Koshiba's Winning of the Nobel Prize in Physics -)

Solar Neutrino Experiments : Now and Future (&lt;Special Issue&gt;Physics of Neutrino - Commemorating Masatoshi Koshiba's Winning of the Nobel Prize in Physics -)

The structure of Lippmann heliochromes: Cajal and the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physics

Previous articleNext article No AccessArrhenius, the Atomic Hypothesis, and the 1908 Nobel Prizes in Physics and ChemistryElisabeth CrawfordElisabeth Crawford Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Isis Volume 75, Number 3Sep., 1984 Publication of the History of Science Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/353569 Views: 17Total views on this site Citations: 5Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1984 History of Science Society, Inc.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Felipe de Moura Souza, Eliana Maria Aricó Teorias ácido‐base no século XX e uma análise reflexiva do trabalho científico, Educación Química 28, no.44 (Oct 2017): 211–216.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eq.2017.07.002Benoît Lelong La grandeur de Richardson, Terrains & travaux n° 18, no.11 (Aug 2011): 19–39.https://doi.org/10.3917/tt.018.0019Diana Kormos Barkan Simply a Matter of Chemistry? The Nobel Prize for 1920, Perspectives on Science 2, no.44 (Feb 1994): 357–395.https://doi.org/10.1162/posc_a_00466Franz Luttenberger Arrhenius vs. Ehrlich on immunochemistry: Decisions about scientific progress in the context of the Nobel prize, Theoretical Medicine 13, no.22 (Jun 1992): 137–173.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02163626 John Neu One Hundred Tenth Critical Bibliography of the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences, Isis 76, no.55 (Oct 2015): 5–240.https://doi.org/10.1086/354035

For the past 100 years, with only a few exceptions during war times, Nobel Prizes have been awarded annually to men and women who have made exceptionally important discoveries in science. In thirteen of those years, prizes were awarded to individuals whose contributions helped explain the molecular world of matter through interactions of waves or particles with atoms. From William C. Rontgen, who received the very first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 for his work with X-rays, to von Laue and the father-and-son Bragg team in the second decade of the century, who used X-rays to understand atomic arrangements, much progress had been made revealing secrets at the molecular level of matter. In the 1930s Debye, Davisson, and Thomson revealed further information using, among other techniques, diffraction of electrons by matter. In the 1960s Crick, Watson, Wilkins, Perutz, Kendrew, and Hodgkin received Nobel Prizes for revealing structures of significantly more complex molecules including the DNA double helix, my...

A set of cognitive, neurological, and mathematical theories for human and robot vision has been recognized that encompasses David Hubel’s hypercolumn vision theory (The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1981 [1]) and Dennis Gabor’s wavelet filter theory (The Nobel Prize in Physics 1971 [2]). This keynote lecture presents a theoretical framework of the Cognitive Vision Theory (CVT) [3-6] and its neurological and mathematical foundations. A set of Intelligent Mathematics (IM) [7-13] and formal vision theories developed in my laboratory is introduced encompassing Image Frame Algebra (IFA) [3], Visual Semantic Algebra (VSA) [4], and the Spike Frequency Modulation (SFM) theory [5]. IM is created for enabling cognitive robots to gain autonomous vision cognition capability supported by Visual Knowledge Bases (VKBs). Paradigms and case studies of robot vision powered by CVTs and IM will be demonstrated. The basic research on CVTs has led to new perspectives to human and robot vision for developing novel image processing applications in AI, neural networks, image recognitions, sequence learning, computational intelligence, self-driving vehicles, unmanned systems, and robot navigations.