This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/oct/06/kajita-and-mcdonald-win-nobel-physics-prize-for-work-on-neutrinos
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Kajita and McDonald win Nobel physics prize for work on neutrinos | Kajita and McDonald win Nobel physics prize for work on neutrinos |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Nobel prize in physics has been awarded to Takaaki Kajita and Arthur McDonald for their work on subatomic particles called neutrinos. | The Nobel prize in physics has been awarded to Takaaki Kajita and Arthur McDonald for their work on subatomic particles called neutrinos. |
| The scientists from the University of Tokyo and Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, have won the prize “for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass”. | The scientists from the University of Tokyo and Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, have won the prize “for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass”. |
| Related: Nobel prize for physics announcement – live | Related: Nobel prize for physics announcement – live |
| The Nobel committee said the discovery by Kajita and McDonald that neutrinos can alter their identities had “changed our understanding of the innermost workings of matter and can prove crucial to our view of the universe”. | The Nobel committee said the discovery by Kajita and McDonald that neutrinos can alter their identities had “changed our understanding of the innermost workings of matter and can prove crucial to our view of the universe”. |
| Asked by reporters in a call following the Nobel announcement how it felt to have won the prize, McDonald described the discovery as a “eureka moment” and said: “It’s a very daunting experience needless to say. Fortunately, I have many colleagues as well who share this prize with me.” | Asked by reporters in a call following the Nobel announcement how it felt to have won the prize, McDonald described the discovery as a “eureka moment” and said: “It’s a very daunting experience needless to say. Fortunately, I have many colleagues as well who share this prize with me.” |
| He said the work had been “a very friendly collaboration” and that “there’s great camaraderie associated with this work even those it has taken many years to try to accomplish it”. | He said the work had been “a very friendly collaboration” and that “there’s great camaraderie associated with this work even those it has taken many years to try to accomplish it”. |
| The pair’s work had solved a puzzling observation that, compared with theoretical calculations of the number of neutrinos expected to be bombarding the Earth, up to two-thirds were apparently missing from measurements. | The pair’s work had solved a puzzling observation that, compared with theoretical calculations of the number of neutrinos expected to be bombarding the Earth, up to two-thirds were apparently missing from measurements. |
| Kajita and McDonald’s had discovered that the apparently missing subatomic particles had in fact changed identities. This implied that neutrinos, which physicists had thought were massless, must have mass, which in turn meant that the so-called standard model of physics cannot be complete in its explanation of the fundamental building blocks of the universe. | Kajita and McDonald’s had discovered that the apparently missing subatomic particles had in fact changed identities. This implied that neutrinos, which physicists had thought were massless, must have mass, which in turn meant that the so-called standard model of physics cannot be complete in its explanation of the fundamental building blocks of the universe. |
| In the process of analysing neutrinos coming from the sun, McDonald’s team were able to verify processes going on in its core. That work could be have practical application in developing nuclear fusion. | In the process of analysing neutrinos coming from the sun, McDonald’s team were able to verify processes going on in its core. That work could be have practical application in developing nuclear fusion. |
| Prof Jon Butterworth, head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University College London, said the work had “solved the longstanding solar neutrino problem, which was one of the things we were taught as students as being a weird anomaly which wasn’t understood - not enough neutrinos coming from the sun”. | |
| “The discovery opened up a whole field of neutrino physics which is still producing amazing science,” he added. | “The discovery opened up a whole field of neutrino physics which is still producing amazing science,” he added. |
| The American theoretical physicist, Frank Wilczek, who won a Nobel in 2004 welcomed the news on Twitter: “Congrats to Kajita, McDonald, [Nobel Prize] in physics for neutrino oscillations. Awesomely beautiful experiments, fundamental result.” | |
| Congrats to Kajita, McDonald, NP in physics for neutrino oscillations. Awesomely beautiful experiments, fundamental result @NobelPrize | |
| He said he had come up with a physics metaphor for winning a Nobel - a “phase transition”. | |
| Previous winners of the physics prize have included Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg and Paul Dirac. Only two women have ever won the Nobel physics prize. Marie Curie won in 1903 (with her husband Pierre, and Antoine Becquerel) for her work on radiation. The last woman to win was Maria Goeppert Mayer who won the prize in 1963 (along with J Hans D Jensen and Eugene Wigner) for her work on nuclear shell structure. | Previous winners of the physics prize have included Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg and Paul Dirac. Only two women have ever won the Nobel physics prize. Marie Curie won in 1903 (with her husband Pierre, and Antoine Becquerel) for her work on radiation. The last woman to win was Maria Goeppert Mayer who won the prize in 1963 (along with J Hans D Jensen and Eugene Wigner) for her work on nuclear shell structure. |
| The Nobel in medicine or physiology was awarded on Monday to Tu Youyou, William Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura for advances that led to treatments for parasite-caused diseases including malaria. | The Nobel in medicine or physiology was awarded on Monday to Tu Youyou, William Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura for advances that led to treatments for parasite-caused diseases including malaria. |
| The winners of the chemistry, literature and peace prizes are to be announced later this week. The economics prize will be announced on Monday 12 October. | The winners of the chemistry, literature and peace prizes are to be announced later this week. The economics prize will be announced on Monday 12 October. |