Japanese duo, US scientist win Nobel Physics Prize
Tue Oct 7, 6:41 AM ET
STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Japan's Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa, and Yoichiro Nambu of the United States won the Nobel Physics Prize Tuesday for pioneering work on fundamental particles of matter called quarks. ADVERTISEMENT
Nambu won half the prize for developing a "standard model of elementary particle physics (which) unifies the smallest building blocks of all matter and three of nature's four forces in one single theory," the Nobel jury said.
The Japanese duo were honoured for their discovery "of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature."
The Nobel Prize (Swedish: Nobelpriset) is a Swedish prize, established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Peace, Literature, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Physics in 1901. An associated prize, The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was instituted by Sweden's central bank in 1968 and first awarded in 1969.[1] The Nobel Prizes in the specific disciplines (Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature) and the Prize in Economics, which is commonly identified with them, are widely regarded as the most prestigious award one can receive in those fields.[1] The Nobel Peace Prize conveys social prestige, and that award also is often politically controversial. With the exception of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Prizes and the Prize in Economics are presented in Stockholm, Sweden, at the annual Prize Award Ceremony on 10 December, the anniversary of Nobel's death. The recipients' lectures are presented in the days prior to the award ceremony.[2] The Nobel Peace Prize and its recipients' lectures are presented at the annual Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo, Norway, also on 10 December. The reason why Norway distributes a part of the prize is that at the time of Alfred Nobel's death Norway was a part of Sweden.[3][4] "Since the Nobel Prize is regarded as the most prestigious prize in the world by far, the Award Ceremonies as well as the Banquets in Stockholm and Oslo on 10 December have been transformed from local Swedish and Norwegian arrangements into major international events that receive worldwide coverage by the print media, radio and television."[2]