2008 Nobel Prizes

Greg
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Post by Greg »

The Nobel Week festivities are under way. Paul Krugman has an hilarious post on his blog about not being to post much as he is otherwise engaged:

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008....omments
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Post by Greg »

Tape measure: X-rays detected from Scotch tape

Just two weeks after a Nobel Prize highlighted theoretical work on subatomic particles, physicists are announcing a startling discovery about a much more familiar form of matter: Scotch tape. It turns out that if you peel the popular adhesive tape off its roll in a vacuum chamber, it emits X-rays. The researchers even made an X-ray image of one of their fingers.

Who knew? Actually, more than 50 years ago, some Russian scientists reported evidence of X-rays from peeling sticky tape off glass. But the new work demonstrates that you can get a lot of X-rays, a study co-author says.

"We were very surprised," said Juan Escobar. "The power you could get from just peeling tape was enormous."

Escobar, a graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles, reports the work with UCLA colleagues in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

He suggests that with some refinements, the process might be harnessed for making inexpensive X-ray machines for paramedics or for places where electricity is expensive or hard to get. After all, you could peel tape or do something similar in such machines with just human power, like cranking.

The researchers and UCLA have applied for a patent covering such devices.

In the new work, a machine peeled ordinary Scotch tape off a roll in a vacuum chamber at about 1.2 inches per second. Rapid pulses of X-rays, each about a billionth of a second long, emerged from very close to where the tape was coming off the roll.

That's where electrons jumped from the roll to the sticky underside of the tape that was being pulled away, a journey of about two-thousandths of an inch, Escobar said. When those electrons struck the sticky side they slowed down, and that slowing made them emit X-rays.

So is this a health hazard for unsuspecting tape-peelers?

Escobar noted that no X-rays are produced in the presence of air. You need to work in a vacuum — not exactly an everyday situation.

"If you're going to peel tape in a vacuum, you should be extra careful," he said. But "I will continue to use Scotch tape during my daily life, and I think it's safe to do it in your office. No guarantees."

James Hevezi, who chairs the American College of Radiology's Commission on Medical Physics, said the notion of developing an X-ray machine from the new finding was "a very interesting idea, and I think it should be carried further in research."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081022/ap_on_sc/sci_scotch_tape_surprise
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Post by Heksagon »

Funny, but Krugman is the first Nobel Prize winner whose books I have read before he won the Nobel. This has never happened with any of the Literature Prize winners.

I'm pretty sure that his award has nothing to do with Bush or recent economic developments. I read what some of the Swedish papers had to say about Krugman. Nobel Prizes are a big deal in Sweden, and press covers them pretty well, and they usually have a pretty good idea about what goes on in the committees. And they all said that Krugman has been one of the favourites to win for years; they all noted that Krugman is famous for being one of Bush's most vocal critics, but they all dismissed the idea that it had anything to do with him getting the prize.

And although Krugman is famous also for his research on macroeconomics, he did not win for those theories. He was awarded for his research on international trade and economic geography. The main reason why he won is that he demonstrated the benefits of free trade in the case of so-called intra-industry trade.

...It's trivial to say that countries benefit from trade when they trade for goods that they could not produce otherwise; this is called inter-industry trade. Intra-industry trade means that countries trade in an industry that exists in both countries. In this case it isn't so clear that countries benefit from increased trade; Krugman demonstrated that even in intra-industry trade, countries benefit substantially from free trade. This is the main reason why he won the Nobel Prize.

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_p....v08.pdf




Edited By Heksagon on 1224079976
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Post by Greg »

Three 2008 Nobel Laureates In Science Endorse Obama

Barack Obama's campaign will announce today that three 2008 Nobel laureates in Science have added their names to a list of 62 Nobel winners endorsing the Democratic candidate for president: Martin Chalfie of Columbia University, Roger Tsien of the University of California at San Diego, and the University of Chicago's Yoichiro Nambu.

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archive....be.html
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Post by Heksagon »

Penelope wrote:Wow. I wonder how much of that is a response to the current situation as well as a big FU to Bush--Krugman has been one of his most vocal critics.
Don't be absurd, they don't give Nobel Prizes on participating in political debate, they give them for Academic research. In Krugman's case they gave him the prize for his research on international trade.:

There's nothing strange about economists taking part in political debate. It shouldn't influence the prize committee, or at least that's what the committee's former chairman said a few years ago:

*****************************

An issue is whether the contributions by a scholar should be treated as gross ornet. In other words, should the Prize awarding authority make deductions for "bad" (low-quality) research? It is obvious that no such deductions have been made. Moreover, how does one deal with people who, in addition to their scholarly work, have participated in the political debate with policy recom­mendations which sometimes may reflect strong ideological commitments. Friedman, Hayek, Myrdal, Tinbergen, Tobin, Modigliani, and Solow are obvious examples. In conformity with the basic idea of the prize as a scientific award, such activities have been neglected.
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Post by Greg »

I'd like to see how much publicity this gives to what Krugman has been saying about the current financial crisis.

Also, Pen can now brag about his having such good taste that a crush of his goes on to win the Nobel Prize.
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Post by Mister Tee »

I've heard Krugman among the rumored for several years, and it may be that his turn simply finally came up. But it's hard not to think that the events of the past few weeks -- all of which Krugman has warned about for years -- swayed the jury to give him his due.

People I know had just commented over the weekend that Paul was suddenly everywhere on TV, because all the usual "experts" had been proven so mistaken their opinions no longer counted for much. What's that MLK quote -- the arc of history is long, but bends toward justice?




Edited By Mister Tee on 1223907294
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Post by Penelope »

Wow. I wonder how much of that is a response to the current situation as well as a big FU to Bush--Krugman has been one of his most vocal critics.
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Post by OscarGuy »

Here's a big shocker...to me anyway.

Paul Krugman wins the Nobel economics prize

19 minutes ago

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - American Paul Krugman won the Nobel economics prize on Monday for his analysis of trade patterns and locations of economic activity.

Krugman, born in 1953, a professor at Princeton University in New Jersey and a columnist for The New York Times, formulated a new theory to answer questions about free trade, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

"What are the effects of free trade and globalization? What are the driving forces behind worldwide urbanization? Paul Krugman has formulated a new theory to answer these questions," the academy said in its citation.

"He has thereby integrated the previously disparate research fields of international trade and economic geography," it said.

Krugman was the lone of winner of the 10 million kronor (US$1.4 million) award, the latest in a string of American researchers to be honored.

The award, known as the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, is the last of the six Nobel prizes announced this year and is not one of the original Nobels. It was created in 1968 by the Swedish central bank in Nobel's memory.
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Post by Heksagon »

Econ Prize is next week.

And I have heard of Ahtisaari. In recent years, there has been so much talk of Ahtisaari winning the Nobel Prize that half of us Finns probably thought he had already won.
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Post by OscarGuy »

Weird...I guess I missed the Econ prize or...they've decided they aren't giving one.

Anyway, they continue giving out the Nobel to people I've never heard of...

Former Finnish president wins Nobel Peace Prize

By DOUG MELLGREN and MATTI HUUHTANEN, Associated Press Writers 1 hour, 30 minutes ago

OSLO, Norway - Finland's ex-president Martti Ahtisaari received the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to build a lasting peace from Africa and Asia to Europe and the Middle East.

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2008 to Martti Ahtisaari for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts. These efforts have contributed to a more peaceful world and to 'fraternity between nations' in Alfred Nobel's spirit," the committee said in announcing the prize.

By selecting Ahtisaari, 71, for the prize, the Nobel committee returned its focus to traditional peace work after tapping climate campaigner Al Gore and the U.N. panel on climate change last year.

The secretive five-member committee said that Ahtisaari's work across the world — Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East — proved that such efforts can have a profound effect on peace processes.

"Through his untiring efforts and good results, he has shown what role mediation of various kinds can play in the resolution of international conflicts," the committee said in announcing the 10 million kronor (US$1.4 million) prize.

"For the past 20 years, he has figured prominently in endeavors to resolve several serious and long-lasting conflicts," the citation said, mentioning his work in conflicts from Namibia and Aceh, Indonesia, to Kosovo and Iraq.

Ahtisaari had been listed as a possible Nobel Peace Prize candidate since 2005 after he negotiated an end to a conflict that began more than 130 years ago by bringing together the Indonesian government and the leaders of the separatist guerrilla movement in Aceh.

"He has also made constructive contributions to the resolution of conflicts in Northern Ireland, in Central Asia, and on the Horn of Africa," the citation said.

Speaking to NRK Norwegian TV, Ahtisaari said he "was very pleased and grateful" at receiving the prize.

Asked what work he considered the most important, Ahtisaari, the first Finn to win the prize, said that "of course Namibia is absolutely the most important because it took such a long time." He also singled out his work in Kosovo and Aceh.

Ahtisaari was a senior Finnish diplomat when in 1977 he was named the U.N. envoy for Namibia, where guerrillas were battling South African apartheid rule. He later rose to undersecretary-general, and in 1988 was dispatched to Namibia to lead 8,000 U.N. peacekeepers during its transition to independence.

Ahtisaari said he hoped the prize would make it easier to attract financing for his peace work.

"There are always many possibilities. I really hope now that I receive the prize that it makes it easier to finance the organizations that I chair," he said. "It's very important to be able to act properly, you need financing and you never have enough."

Ahtisaari has had a broad career in politics and in peacemaking.

A primary school teacher who joined Finland's Foreign Ministry in 1965, he spent 20 years abroad, first as ambassador to Tanzania and then to the United Nations in New York.

He was U.N. undersecretary of state for administration and management from 1987 to 1991, heading the U.N. operation that brought independence to Namibia in 1990.

In 1994, Ahtisaari accepted the presidential candidacy of Finland's Social Democratic Party and won the election. He did not seek re-election in 2000 and has since participated in various international peace efforts.

In 2007, Ahtisaari's office — Crisis Management Initiative — started secret meetings in Finland between Iraqi Sunni and Shiite groups to agree on a road map to peace.

The talks, based on the format of peacemaking efforts in South Africa and Northern Ireland, included 16 delegates from the feuding groups. They "agreed to consult further" on a list of recommendations to begin reconciliation talks, including resolving political disputes through nonviolence and democracy.

In August 2005, Ahtisaari helped end 30 years of fighting between Aceh rebels and the Indonesian government with peace talks in Finland, which he initiated and mediated with Crisis Management Initiative. A peace agreement, signed in Helsinki, followed seven months of negotiations between the two parties, which he initiated and mediated.

Ahtisaari was also chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina working group in the international peace conference on former Yugoslavia from 1992 to 1993, and was special adviser to the U.N. secretary-general on former Yugoslavia in 1993.

Although Serbia bitterly rejected Ahtisaari's attempts to forge a compromise settlement on Kosovo, which declared independence in February, his blueprint forms the essence of the new nation's constitution.

Ahtisaari's plan also laid down the guidelines for the deployment of a European Union police force in Kosovo and other key aspects of the way today's Kosovo is run day to day.

The peace prize is presented in Oslo while Nobel prizes for medicine, chemistry, physics and economics are handed out in Stockholm, Sweden. The ceremonies are always on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.
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Post by OscarGuy »

Here's Lit:

France's Le Clezio wins Nobel literature prize

By MATT MOORE and KARL RITTER, Associated Press Writers 18 minutes ago

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio won the 2008 Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for his poetic adventure and "sensual ecstasy."
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The Swedish Academy called Le Clezio, 68, an "author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization."

Le Clezio made his breakthrough as a novelist with "Desert," in 1980, a work the academy said "contains magnificent images of a lost culture in the North African desert contrasted with a depiction of Europe seen through the eyes of unwanted immigrants."

Le Clezio also won a prize from the French Academy for the work.

The Swedish Academy said Le Clezio from early on "stood out as an ecologically engaged author, an orientation that is accentuated with the novels 'Terra Amata,' 'The Book of Flights,' 'War' and 'The Giants.'"

The decision stood was in line with the Swedish Academy's recent picks of European authors for the prestigious award. Last year, it went to Briton Doris Lessing.

Le Clezio was born in Nice in 1940 and at eight the family moved to Nigeria, where his father had been a doctor during World War II.

His most recent works include 2007's "Ballaciner," a work the academy called a "deeply personal essay about the history of the art of film and the importance of film" in his life.

His books have also included several tales for children, including 1980's "Lullaby" and "Balaabilou" in 1985.
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Post by OscarGuy »

Sorry, Greg, looks like they went a different direction (as all the prizes seem to have gone. I read an article about the first prize and they suggested someone else entirely for the medical prize).

Two Americans, one Japanese win 2008 chemistry Nobel

42 minutes ago

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Two Americans scientists and a Japanese researcher won the 2008 Nobel prize for chemistry for their discovery of a green fluorescent protein that has become a key tool in bioscience, the prize committee said on Wednesday.
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The prestigious 10 million Swedish crown ($1.4 million) prize recognized Osamu Shimomura of Japan and Americans Martin Chalfie and Roger Tsien for their discovery of the brightly glowing protein GFP. It was first observed in the jellyfish Aequorea victoria in 1962.

"This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry rewards the initial discovery of GFP and a series of important developments which have led to its use as a tagging tool in bioscience," the Nobel Committee for Chemistry at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement.

All but one of the prizes were established in the will of 19th century dynamite tycoon Alfred Nobel and have been handed out since 1901. The economics award was established by Sweden's central bank in 1968.
Wesley Lovell
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Post by flipp525 »

I think Alice Munro ought to be considered for the literature prize. Her literary output is prodigious and fine.



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Post by Greg »

The Physics Prize goes to:

Yoichiro Nambu, "for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics" and to Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature".




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