Shocker: Nobel Prize in Physics goes to topology in materials, not gravitational waves!
If you were betting on LIGO, you bet wrong. Just like everybody else.
“‘Topology is destiny,’ he said, and put the drawers on. One leg at a time.”
-Neal Stephenson
One week ago today, the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics was announced: half to David J. Thouless, a quarter each to F. Duncan M. Haldane and J. Michael Kosterlitz, for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter. This was a huge upset, as everyone was anticipating the Nobel Prize would go various members of the LIGO collaboration, who earlier this year announced the first discovered gravitational waves from merging black holes. This year, the Nobel committee went with the more practical side, to the scientists who pioneered the ability to create controlled “holes” or defects in quantum mechanical states of matter known as condensates. Their research has led to breakthroughs in materials science and condensed matter physics, and holds the promise of revolutionizing electronics. It marks the 24th year in a row that the prize has been awarded to multiple individuals, and the 53rd consecutive year that women have been shut out of the prize.
