Nobel Prize in Physics laureates of the 1980s
The top 3 according to 31 votes from people: Val Logsdon Fitch · Kenneth G. Wilson · Nicolaas Bloembergen. (Updated Nov 25, 2019.)
Every Nobel Prize in Physics laureate between 1980 and 1989, with the year and the Nobel Foundation's official citation. Which discovery do you think mattered most?
Top 22
-
1
Val Logsdon Fitch
1980. For the discovery of violations of fundamental symmetry principles in the decay of neutral K-mesons.
-
2
Kenneth G. Wilson
1982. For his theory for critical phenomena in connection with phase transitions.
-
3
Nicolaas Bloembergen
1981. For their contribution to the development of laser spectroscopy.
-
4
Simon van der Meer
1984. For their decisive contributions to the large project, which led to the discovery of the field particles W and Z, communicators of weak interaction.
-
5
K. Alexander Müller
1987. For their important break-through in the discovery of superconductivity in ceramic materials.
-
6
Norman F. Ramsey
1989. For the invention of the separated oscillatory fields method and its use in the hydrogen maser and other atomic clocks.
-
7
James Watson Cronin
1980. For the discovery of violations of fundamental symmetry principles in the decay of neutral K-mesons.
-
8
Arthur Leonard Schawlow
1981. For their contribution to the development of laser spectroscopy.
-
9
Kai M. Siegbahn
1981. For his contribution to the development of high-resolution electron spectroscopy.
-
10
William Alfred Fowler
1983. For his theoretical and experimental studies of the nuclear reactions of importance in the formation of the chemical elements in the universe.
-
11
Klaus von Klitzing
1985. For the discovery of the quantized Hall effect.
-
12
Ernst Ruska
1986. For his fundamental work in electron optics, and for the design of the first electron microscope.
-
13
J. Georg Bednorz
1987. For their important break-through in the discovery of superconductivity in ceramic materials.
-
14
Leon M. Lederman
1988. For the neutrino beam method and the demonstration of the doublet structure of the leptons through the discovery of the muon neutrino.
-
15
Jack Steinberger
1988. For the neutrino beam method and the demonstration of the doublet structure of the leptons through the discovery of the muon neutrino.
-
16
Hans G. Dehmelt
1989. For the development of the ion trap technique.
-
17
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
1983. For his theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars.
-
18
Gerd Binnig
1986. For their design of the scanning tunneling microscope.
-
19
Heinrich Rohrer
1986. For their design of the scanning tunneling microscope.
-
20
Wolfgang Paul
1989. For the development of the ion trap technique.
-
21
Melvin Schwartz
1988. For the neutrino beam method and the demonstration of the doublet structure of the leptons through the discovery of the muon neutrino.
-
22
Carlo Rubbia
1984. For their decisive contributions to the large project, which led to the discovery of the field particles W and Z, communicators of weak interaction.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (5)
Rubbia and van der Meer, W and Z bosons at CERN.
Binnig and Rohrer, the scanning tunnelling microscope, beautiful science.
Von Klitzing and the quantum Hall effect, a classic.
Chandrasekhar finally recognised, decades after his limit.
Bednorz and Müller won just one year after their discovery, record speed.