The Nobel Prize in Physics is one of the most prestigious awards in science, recognizing groundbreaking contributions to the field of physics. Established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, it is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists who have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind through their discoveries or inventions in physics.
 |
| Nobel Prize in Physics |
Since its inception in 1901, the prize has been awarded 118 times to 226 individuals, with John Bardeen being the only laureate to win it twice (1956 and 1972). The award, presented in Stockholm on December 10—the anniversary of Nobel’s death—includes a medal, a diploma, and a monetary prize, which varies yearly based on the Nobel Foundation’s funding.
toc=#(table of content)
First Nobel Prize in Physics
The inaugural Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded in 1901 to Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen of Germany for his discovery of X-rays, a breakthrough that revolutionized medical diagnostics and laid the foundation for modern radiology. Röntgen’s discovery of these “remarkable rays” demonstrated their ability to penetrate matter and produce images of internal structures, earning him 150,782 SEK. This landmark award set the tone for the Nobel Prize’s mission to honor transformative contributions to physics.
Nobel Prize in Physics 2025
As of May 26, 2025, the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2025 has not yet been announced. According to the Nobel Foundation, the announcement is scheduled for Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at 11:45 CEST at the earliest. The 2024 prize was awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for their foundational discoveries in machine learning with artificial neural networks, highlighting the growing impact of computational physics. The 2025 award is anticipated to recognize equally transformative work, continuing the tradition of celebrating cutting-edge advancements.
Nobel Prize in Physics List by Year
The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded nearly every year since 1901, with exceptions in 1916, 1931, 1934, and 1940–1942 due to global conflicts or lack of suitable candidates. The Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences since 1901, recognizes outstanding contributions to physics, as stipulated by Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will. It has been awarded 118 times to 227 laureates, with John Bardeen being the only individual to win twice (1956, 1972). The prize has celebrated discoveries from X-rays to quantum mechanics, shaping science and technology. Below is a comprehensive table of all 118 awards from 1901 to 2024, detailing the year, winners, and their contributions.
| Year | Winners | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen | Discovery of X-rays |
| 1902 | Hendrik Antoon Lorentz, Pieter Zeeman | Influence of magnetism on radiation phenomena |
| 1903 | Antoine Henri Becquerel, Pierre Curie, Marie Skłodowska-Curie | Discovery of spontaneous radioactivity and joint research on radiation phenomena |
| 1904 | Lord Rayleigh (John William Strutt) | Discovery of argon and studies on gas densities |
| 1905 | Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard | Work on cathode rays |
| 1906 | Joseph John Thomson | Conduction of electricity by gases |
| 1907 | Albert Abraham Michelson | Precision optical instruments and spectroscopic investigations |
| 1908 | Gabriel Lippmann | Reproducing colors photographically via interference |
| 1909 | Guglielmo Marconi, Carl Ferdinand Braun | Development of wireless telegraphy |
| 1910 | Johannes Diderik van der Waals | Equation of state for gases and liquids |
| 1911 | Wilhelm Wien | Laws governing the radiation of heat |
| 1912 | Nils Gustaf Dalén | Automatic regulators for gas lighting |
| 1913 | Heike Kamerlingh Onnes | Investigations on low-temperature physics and superconductivity |
| 1914 | Max von Laue | Crystal diffraction of X-rays |
| 1915 | William Henry Bragg, William Lawrence Bragg | X-ray analysis of crystal structure |
| 1916 | No Award | - |
| 1917 | Charles Glover Barkla | Characteristic X-ray spectra of elements |
| 1918 | Max Planck | Discovery of energy quanta |
| 1919 | Johannes Stark | Splitting of spectral lines in electric fields |
| 1920 | Charles-Édouard Guillaume | Anomalies in nickel-steel alloys |
| 1921 | Albert Einstein | Services to theoretical physics, especially the law of the photoelectric effect |
| 1922 | Niels Henrik David Bohr | Structure of atoms and their radiation |
| 1923 | Robert Andrews Millikan | Measurement of the elementary electric charge and work on the photoelectric effect |
| 1924 | Manne Siegbahn | Discoveries in X-ray spectroscopy |
| 1925 | James Franck, Gustav Ludwig Hertz | Laws governing the impact of electrons on atoms |
| 1926 | Jean Baptiste Perrin | Work on the discontinuous structure of matter |
| 1927 | Arthur Holly Compton, Charles Thomson Rees Wilson | Discovery of the Compton effect; invention of the cloud chamber |
| 1928 | Owen Willans Richardson | Work on thermionic emission |
| 1929 | Louis Victor Pierre Raymond de Broglie | Discovery of the wave nature of electrons |
| 1930 | Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman | Work on the scattering of light (Raman effect) |
| 1931 | No Award | - |
| 1932 | Werner Karl Heisenberg | Creation of quantum mechanics |
| 1933 | Erwin Schrödinger, Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac | New productive forms of atomic theory |
| 1934 | No Award | - |
| 1935 | James Chadwick | Discovery of the neutron |
| 1936 | Victor Franz Hess, Carl David Anderson | Discovery of cosmic radiation; discovery of the positron |
| 1937 | Clinton Joseph Davisson, George Paget Thomson | Experimental discovery of electron diffraction by crystals |
| 1938 | Enrico Fermi | Demonstrations of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation |
| 1939 | Ernest Orlando Lawrence | Invention and development of the cyclotron |
| 1940 | No Award | - |
| 1941 | No Award | - |
| 1942 | No Award | - |
| 1943 | Otto Stern | Development of the molecular ray method and discovery of the magnetic moment of the proton |
| 1944 | Isidor Isaac Rabi | Resonance method for recording magnetic properties of atomic nuclei |
| 1945 | Wolfgang Pauli | Discovery of the exclusion principle |
| 1946 | Percy Williams Bridgman | Inventions in high-pressure physics |
| 1947 | Edward Victor Appleton | Investigations of the physics of the upper atmosphere |
| 1948 | Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett | Development of the Wilson cloud chamber and discoveries in nuclear physics |
| 1949 | Hideki Yukawa | Prediction of the existence of mesons |
| 1950 | Cecil Frank Powell | Development of photographic method for studying nuclear processes |
| 1951 | John Douglas Cockcroft, Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton | Work on transmutation of atomic nuclei by accelerated particles |
| 1952 | Felix Bloch, Edward Mills Purcell | Development of new methods for nuclear magnetic precision measurements |
| 1953 | Frits Zernike | Invention of phase-contrast microscopy |
| 1954 | Max Born, Walther Bothe | Statistical interpretation of quantum mechanics; coincidence method |
| 1955 | Willis Eugene Lamb, Polykarp Kusch | Discoveries concerning the fine structure of the hydrogen spectrum; precision measurement of the electron’s magnetic moment |
| 1956 | William Bradford Shockley, John Bardeen, Walter Houser Brattain | Research on semiconductors and discovery of the transistor effect |
| 1957 | Chen Ning Yang, Tsung-Dao Lee | Discovery of parity law violations in weak interactions |
| 1958 | Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov, Il’ya Mikhailovich Frank, Igor Yevgenyevich Tamm | Discovery and interpretation of the Cherenkov effect |
| 1959 | Emilio Gino Segrè, Owen Chamberlain | Discovery of the antiproton |
| 1960 | Donald Arthur Glaser | Invention of the bubble chamber |
| 1961 | Robert Hofstadter, Rudolf Ludwig Mössbauer | Studies of electron scattering in atomic nuclei; discovery of the Mössbauer effect |
| 1962 | Lev Davidovich Landau | Theories for condensed matter, especially liquid helium |
| 1963 | Eugene Paul Wigner, Maria Goeppert Mayer, J. Hans D. Jensen | Discoveries concerning nuclear shell structure; symmetry principles |
| 1964 | Charles Hard Townes, Nicolay Gennadiyevich Basov, Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov | Fundamental work in quantum electronics, leading to the maser and laser |
| 1965 | Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Julian Schwinger, Richard P. Feynman | Fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics |
| 1966 | Alfred Kastler | Development of optical methods for studying atomic energy levels |
| 1967 | Hans Albrecht Bethe | Contributions to the theory of nuclear reactions, especially stellar energy |
| 1968 | Luis Walter Alvarez | Contributions to elementary particle physics via bubble chamber techniques |
| 1969 | Murray Gell-Mann | Contributions to the classification of elementary particles (quarks) |
| 1970 | Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén, Louis Eugène Félix Néel | Discoveries in magnetohydrodynamics; antiferromagnetism and ferrimagnetism |
| 1971 | Dennis Gabor | Invention of holography |
| 1972 | John Bardeen, Leon Neil Cooper, John Robert Schrieffer | Theory of superconductivity (BCS theory) |
| 1973 | Leo Esaki, Ivar Giaever, Brian David Josephson | Tunneling phenomena in semiconductors and superconductors; Josephson effect |
| 1974 | Martin Ryle, Antony Hewish | Pioneering work in radio astrophysics, including pulsars |
| 1975 | Aage Niels Bohr, Ben Roy Mottelson, Leo James Rainwater | Discovery of the connection between collective motion and particle motion in atomic nuclei |
| 1976 | Burton Richter, Samuel Chao Chung Ting | Discovery of a heavy elementary particle (J/ψ meson) |
| 1977 | Philip Warren Anderson, Nevill Francis Mott, John Hasbrouck Van Vleck | Theoretical investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems |
| 1978 | Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa, Arno Allan Penzias, Robert Woodrow Wilson | Discoveries in low-temperature physics; discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation |
| 1979 | Sheldon Lee Glashow, Abdus Salam, Steven Weinberg | Unified weak and electromagnetic interaction theory |
| 1980 | James Watson Cronin, Val Logsdon Fitch | Discovery of violations of fundamental symmetry principles in K-meson decay |
| 1981 | Nicolaas Bloembergen, Arthur Leonard Schawlow, Kai Manne Börje Siegbahn | Contributions to laser spectroscopy; high-resolution electron spectroscopy |
| 1982 | Kenneth G. Wilson | Theory for critical phenomena in phase transitions |
| 1983 | Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, William Alfred Fowler | Theoretical studies of physical processes in stellar evolution |
| 1984 | Carlo Rubbia, Simon van der Meer | Contributions to the discovery of W and Z particles |
| 1985 | Klaus von Klitzing | Discovery of the quantized Hall effect |
| 1986 | Ernst Ruska, Gerd Binnig, Heinrich Rohrer | Design of the electron microscope; invention of the scanning tunneling microscope |
| 1987 | J. Georg Bednorz, K. Alexander Müller | Discovery of high-temperature superconductivity |
| 1988 | Leon M. Lederman, Melvin Schwartz, Jack Steinberger | Neutrino beam method and demonstration of the doublet structure of leptons |
| 1989 | Norman Foster Ramsey, Hans Georg Dehmelt, Wolfgang Paul | Development of separated oscillatory fields method; ion trap technique |
| 1990 | Jerome I. Friedman, Henry W. Kendall, Richard E. Taylor | Experiments confirming the quark model |
| 1991 | Pierre-Gilles de Gennes | Methods for studying order phenomena in simple systems |
| 1992 | Georges Charpak | Invention of particle detectors, particularly the multiwire proportional chamber |
| 1993 | Russell A. Hulse, Joseph H. Taylor Jr. | Discovery of a binary pulsar and tests of general relativity |
| 1994 | Bertram N. Brockhouse, Clifford G. Shull | Development of neutron spectroscopy and neutron diffraction techniques |
| 1995 | Martin L. Perl, Frederick Reines | Discovery of the tau lepton; detection of the neutrino |
| 1996 | David M. Lee, Douglas D. Osheroff, Robert C. Richardson | Discovery of superfluidity in helium-3 |
| 1997 | Steven Chu, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, William D. Phillips | Development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light |
| 1998 | Robert B. Laughlin, Horst L. Störmer, Daniel C. Tsui | Discovery of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations |
| 1999 | Gerardus ’t Hooft, Martinus J. G. Veltman | Elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions |
| 2000 | Zhores I. Alferov, Herbert Kroemer, Jack S. Kilby | Development of semiconductor heterostructures; invention of the integrated circuit |
| 2001 | Eric A. Cornell, Wolfgang Ketterle, Carl E. Wieman | Achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute gases |
| 2002 | Raymond Davis Jr., Masatoshi Koshiba, Riccardo Giacconi | Pioneering contributions to astrophysics, including neutrino detection and X-ray astronomy |
| 2003 | Alexei A. Abrikosov, Vitaly L. Ginzburg, Anthony J. Leggett | Contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids |
| 2004 | David J. Gross, H. David Politzer, Frank A. Wilczek | Discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction |
| 2005 | Roy J. Glauber, John L. Hall, Theodor W. Hänsch | Contributions to quantum theory of optical coherence; precision laser spectroscopy |
| 2006 | John C. Mather, George F. Smoot | Discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background |
| 2007 | Albert Fert, Peter Grünberg | Discovery of giant magnetoresistance |
| 2008 | Yoichiro Nambu, Makoto Kobayashi, Toshihide Maskawa | Discovery of spontaneous broken symmetry; mechanism of CP violation |
| 2009 | Charles K. Kao, Willard S. Boyle, George E. Smith | Transmission of light in fibers; invention of the CCD sensor |
| 2010 | Andre Geim, Konstantin Novoselov | Experiments with two-dimensional graphene |
| 2011 | Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt, Adam G. Riess | Discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe |
| 2012 | Serge Haroche, David J. Wineland | Methods enabling measurement and manipulation of quantum systems |
| 2013 | Fran̤ois Englert, Peter W. Higgs | (Discovery of Higgs Boson РGod's Particle) Theoretical prediction of the Higgs mechanism, groundbreaking contribution to understanding the origin of mass in the universe. |
| 2014 | Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, Shuji Nakamura | Invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes |
| 2015 | Takaaki Kajita, Arthur B. McDonald | Discovery of neutrino oscillations, showing neutrinos have mass |
| 2016 | David J. Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane, J. Michael Kosterlitz | Theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and phases of matter |
| 2017 | Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish, Kip S. Thorne | Contributions to the LIGO detector and observation of gravitational waves |
| 2018 | Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou, Donna Strickland | Groundbreaking inventions in laser physics |
| 2019 | James Peebles, Michel Mayor, Didier Queloz | Contributions to understanding the universe’s evolution and exoplanets |
| 2020 | Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel, Andrea Ghez | Discoveries about black hole formation and the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole |
| 2021 | Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann, Giorgio Parisi | Contributions to understanding complex physical systems, including climate modeling |
| 2022 | Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, Anton Zeilinger | Experiments with entangled photons and quantum information science |
| 2023 | Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, Anne L’Huillier | Experimental methods for generating attosecond pulses of light to study electron dynamics |
| 2024 | John J. Hopfield, Geoffrey Hinton | Foundational discoveries enabling machine learning with artificial neural networks |
Nobel Prize in Physics: Marie Curie
Marie Curie, a pioneering scientist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 alongside her husband Pierre Curie and Antoine Henri Becquerel. The trio was recognized for their work on radiation phenomena, with Becquerel honored for discovering spontaneous radioactivity and the Curies for their joint research on these phenomena.
Marie Curie’s contributions included identifying and isolating radioactive elements like polonium and radium, which advanced the understanding of radioactivity. She became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Physics and later won an unshared Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911, making her one of only two individuals to win Nobel Prizes in multiple sciences. Only five women have won the Physics Nobel, highlighting Curie’s exceptional legacy.
Nobel Prize Winners in Physics in India
India has made significant contributions to physics, with two notable Nobel Prize winners associated with the country. Below is a table summarizing their achievements.
| Year | Laureate | Contribution | Connection to India |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman | Discovery of the Raman effect (light scattering) | Born and worked in India; conducted research at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science |
| 1979 | Abdus Salam | Unified theory of weak and electromagnetic interactions | Born in British India (now Pakistan); early education in India |
Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930, discovered the Raman effect, which describes the scattering of light and its interaction with molecular vibrations. This work, conducted in India, remains a cornerstone of spectroscopy. Abdus Salam, born in British India (now Pakistan), shared the 1979 Nobel Prize for his contributions to the electroweak theory, which unifies weak and electromagnetic interactions. His early education in India shaped his scientific career, and he later founded the International Centre for Theoretical Physics to support scientists from developing countries.
Nobel Prize in Physics: Impact and Legacy
The Nobel Prize in Physics has celebrated transformative discoveries, from X-rays and radioactivity to quantum mechanics and artificial intelligence. Its laureates have reshaped our understanding of the universe, from the subatomic to the cosmic scale. The prize continues to inspire scientists worldwide, with contributions like neutrino oscillations and attosecond pulses opening new frontiers in technology and fundamental research.
Despite its prestige, the award has faced criticism for underrepresenting women (only five female laureates) and certain fields like astrophysics in earlier years. Nevertheless, it remains a beacon of scientific excellence, driving innovation and discovery.
Nobel Prize in Physics: Conclusion
The Nobel Prize in Physics, established by Alfred Nobel’s vision, honors those who push the boundaries of human knowledge. From Wilhelm Röntgen’s X-rays in 1901 to the 2024 recognition of machine learning pioneers, the prize reflects the evolving landscape of physics. With contributions from luminaries like Marie Curie and Indian physicists like C.V. Raman, the Nobel Prize continues to celebrate the ingenuity and perseverance that define scientific progress. As we await the 2025 announcement, the prize’s legacy endures as a testament to physics’ role in shaping our world.
References
- Nobel Prize in Physics. NobelPrize.org. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/
- Nobel Prize in Physics - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics
- List of Nobel Laureates in Physics. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates_in_Physics
