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The Nobel Prize In Physics And The Search For Gravitational Waves : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR

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If the recipient is someone close to theoretical physics or astrophysics, I usually get clued in to the good news by the big grins and buoyant chatter in the halls of the department. Our community is not huge and we all, very likely, know the awardees to different degrees. Someone will have studied with them or taught them or gone to school with them — and the anecdotes will flow. There's a certain pride that the world will pause and reflect on the scientific endeavor, which at times can drift into obscurity and induce a peculiar isolation — and I think I'm drastically understating that syndrome. But this year, the multiple requests from reporters to comment on the impending prize made me unusually aware that the announcement was to the immediate future as opposed to my usual annual awareness that the prize was just announced in the immediate past. The main question: "Do I think 'The Prize' will be awarded for gravitational waves?" Over a billion years ago, two black holes swung throug

Opinion Culture On Waiting For A Nobel Prize Announcement October 6, 2016 5:26 AM ET By Janna Levin Enlarge this image AP AP I'm usually the last in my field to know the Nobel Prize in Physics has been announced. If the recipient is someone close to theoretical physics or astrophysics, I usually get clued in to the good news by the big grins and buoyant chatter in the halls of the department. Our community is not huge and we all, very likely, know the awardees to different degrees. Someone will have studied with them or taught them or gone to school with them — and the anecdotes will flow. The

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