Who are the top 10 Nobel Prize-winning physicists?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ernest S Walton
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the subjective criteria for ranking Nobel Prize-winning physicists, with participants sharing their personal top ten lists and questioning the basis for such rankings. The scope includes conceptual exploration of what defines a "top" physicist.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant lists their top ten Nobel Prize-winning physicists, including Einstein, Heisenberg, and Feynman.
  • Another participant suggests adding Ernest Rutherford to the list, noting his contributions to physics despite winning a Nobel Prize in chemistry.
  • A participant questions the criteria used to determine the "top 10" physicists, implying that the selection may be arbitrary without clear standards.
  • Further comments express skepticism about the validity of the original list and the reasoning behind it, highlighting the need for defined criteria in such rankings.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach consensus on the criteria for ranking physicists, with multiple views expressed regarding who should be included and the basis for selection.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the subjective nature of ranking scientists and the lack of agreed-upon criteria for such evaluations.

Ernest S Walton
Messages
31
Reaction score
10
So there are now exactly 200 Nobel prize-winning physicists...

Here is my top 10 -

Einstein
Heisenberg
N Bohr
Planck
Schrödinger
Fermi
Feynman
Dirac
Lorentz
Pauli
 
Physics news on Phys.org
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
Schrödinger
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.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Astronuc and dlgoff

Similar threads

News Who Will Win the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics?
  • · Replies 105 ·
4
Replies
105
Views
14K
News Nobel-Winning Physicist Martin Perl Passes Away at 87
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
Graduate A list of Physicist and their contributions
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
12K
News RIP David Pines: Physics Giant Who Could Have Won Nobel Prize
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Graduate Chen Ning Yang is (almost) 100 years old
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
Physicist alive today who you believe deserve a nobel prize
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
4K
High School Feynman's Discoveries: Impact on Technology & Why He Won a Nobel Prize
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
4K
History Who should have been the 4th laureate in the Nobel Prize in Physics?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K
Who Will Win the 2015 Nobel Prize in Science?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Who Will Win the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K