American trio splits Nobel Prize in physics
By Christopher MooreThe recipients of the 2004 Nobel prize in physics have been announced. Read the AP report here.
Americans David J. Gross, H. David Politzer and Frank Wilczeck won the 2004 Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for their exploration of the force that binds particles inside the atomic nucleus.
So what did these guys do? Well they described a nucleus’ color! In english, they made theoretical discoveries concerning the strong force, which physicists call the “color force”.
The strong force is the dominant force inside the nucleus that acts between the quarks inside the proton and the neutron.
Protons and neutrons are made up of tiny little bits called quarks. In order to make a proton or a neutron I have to stick three quarks together. The strong force is the glue that binds these quarks. The model that explains this “glue” force is called the theory of quantum chromodynamics, or QCD.
Richard Feynmann recieved a Nobel prize in the 80’s for his work on quantum eletrodynamics, or QED. QED looks at what makes the electrons stick to the atom.
I just finished reading an article in this months Physics Today written by Frank Wilczek. Its an excellent article that touches on the concept of “force”. What is a force? You can read it here.
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