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What work do you think has been especially significant and likely to be awarded the 2008 physics Nobel?
I'll hazard a guess: the discovery of accelerated expansion by those two supernovae survey teams. It led cosmologists to include a positive cosmological constant in their standard model---often attributed to 70 percent of the universe being "dark energy". If I remember correctly the leaders of the two teams were Saul Perlmutter and Brian Schmidt, or maybe Adam Riess. I'm not sure how the prize would be divided if it turns out to be awarded to the discovery of accel. expn.
Often times the physics award is surprising and points out some important development that I at least wasn't fully aware of, maybe some fundamental development that didn't get a lot of publicity but led to beneficial technology advances.
So maybe you know of some obscure physics deserving recognition, or some such. What do you think will get the Nobel this year? Something in condensed matter? Something Higgsy? Neutrino-related? B-E Condensates got the 2001 prize so maybe it is too early for another prize in that area.
Brian Schmidt led the Hi-Z supernova search project, Perlmutter led the Supernova cosmology project, those were the two main teams that reported acceleration in 1998, and then Adam Riess has worked on a Higher-Z supernova project which has given important extension and confirmation to the 1998 findings. I'd like to see all three (and their respective teams of co-workers) honored.
I'll hazard a guess: the discovery of accelerated expansion by those two supernovae survey teams. It led cosmologists to include a positive cosmological constant in their standard model---often attributed to 70 percent of the universe being "dark energy". If I remember correctly the leaders of the two teams were Saul Perlmutter and Brian Schmidt, or maybe Adam Riess. I'm not sure how the prize would be divided if it turns out to be awarded to the discovery of accel. expn.
Often times the physics award is surprising and points out some important development that I at least wasn't fully aware of, maybe some fundamental development that didn't get a lot of publicity but led to beneficial technology advances.
So maybe you know of some obscure physics deserving recognition, or some such. What do you think will get the Nobel this year? Something in condensed matter? Something Higgsy? Neutrino-related? B-E Condensates got the 2001 prize so maybe it is too early for another prize in that area.
Brian Schmidt led the Hi-Z supernova search project, Perlmutter led the Supernova cosmology project, those were the two main teams that reported acceleration in 1998, and then Adam Riess has worked on a Higher-Z supernova project which has given important extension and confirmation to the 1998 findings. I'd like to see all three (and their respective teams of co-workers) honored.
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