Who are the top 10 Nobel Prize-winning physicists?

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The discussion centers around the selection of a top 10 list of Nobel Prize-winning physicists, with a focus on notable figures such as Einstein, Heisenberg, and Feynman. Participants debate the criteria for inclusion in such lists, questioning the basis for ranking these scientists beyond personal preference. The conversation highlights the challenge of establishing objective standards for evaluating the contributions of physicists, with mentions of other significant figures like Ernest Rutherford, who, despite winning a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, is recognized for his foundational work in physics. The dialogue reflects a mix of admiration for the scientists listed and skepticism about the arbitrary nature of ranking them without clear criteria.
Ernest S Walton
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So there are now exactly 200 Nobel prize-winning physicists...

Here is my top 10 -

Einstein
Heisenberg
N Bohr
Planck
Schrodinger
Fermi
Feynman
Dirac
Lorentz
Pauli
 
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You might want to add Ernest Rutherford. Although he won for chemistry/"stamp collecting", his work was in physics.

AM
 
Ernest S Walton said:
So there are now exactly 200 Nobel prize-winning physicists...

Here is my top 10 -

Einstein
Heisenberg
N Bohr
Planck
Schrodinger
Fermi
Feynman
Dirac
Lorentz
Pauli

What characteristics actually qualified them to be in your "top 10"? The size of their noses? The length of their hair? Or how adorable they were?

Zz.
 
Andrew Mason said:
You might want to add Ernest Rutherford. Although he won for chemistry/"stamp collecting", his work was in physics.

AM

Yes indeed, and it was also difficult to leave out Born, Gell-Mann, Bardeen among others.

ZapperZ said:
What characteristics actually qualified them to be in your "top 10"? The size of their noses? The length of their hair? Or how adorable they were?

Zz.

I hope your other 30,532 posts are not quite so imbecilic.
 
Ernest S Walton said:
I hope your other 30,532 posts are not quite so imbecilic.

No, some of them were worse. It depends on the level of the topic. I'm very adaptable.

So you did not think my question was even with answering?

We have had many people asking for "best physicist" etc., and the issue had always been what CRITERIA does one use to decide or judge such a thing. It seems that the list you made appear to be rather arbitrary if you do not include how you decide who to include.

So was it?

Zz.
 
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