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The Absurdity of the Nobel Prizes in Science

This morning, physicists Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne, and Barry Barish received the Nobel Prize for Physics, for their discovery of gravitational waves—distortions in the fabric of space and time. The trio, who led the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project that recorded these waves, will split the 9-million-Swedish-krona prize between them. Perhaps more importantly, they will carry the status of “Nobel laureate” for the rest of their lives.

But what of the other scientists who contributed to the LIGO project, and whose names grace the three-page-long author list in the paper that describes the discoveries? “LIGO’s success was owed to hundreds of researchers,”…

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Featured

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Winning a Nobel Prize is something that many scientists aspire to, yet only a select few make discoveries so notable that they are awarded this honor. As the Nobel Prize cannot be awarded posthumously, to be eligible, the discovery must have a significant impact on humankind during the discoverer’s lifetime, which makes winning it even more commendable.

Articles of Interest

All Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine

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Bob Dylan’s Year of Living Laureatishly

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Resources

2 Americans among scientists who won Nobel Prize for medicine for finding out how cells use oxygen

Two Americans and a British scientist have been awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for discovering how the body's cells sense and react to oxygen levels, work that has paved the way for new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and other diseases, the Nobel Committee said.

Nobelprize.org

Nobelprize.org is the official web site of the Nobel Prize. Here you will find information for every Nobel Prize since 1901, including the Nobel Laureates' biographies, Nobel Lectures, interviews, photos, articles, video clips, press releases, educational games and more.