Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave2042
Indeed.
However it is often said that the committee generally errs towards experimental awards, and that this could reflect a relative nervousness about theory. Allegedly this is because a properly reviewed and replicated experimental result stands forever, while a theory is much more susceptible to being found wanting along way down the track (not an argument I am entirely convinced by, but there you go).
So as someone who leans more towards the theory and maths, I'm always pleased to see something like this.
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Ironically the 1979 Nobel Prize was awarded for work on a theory that assumed the Higgs mechanism existed. The electroweak theory predicted the existence of neutral currents and the W and Z bosons.
The prize was awarded due to the detection of neutral currents in 1973.
The W and Z bosons were found in 1983.
Despite the experimental success it was a bold step by the committee at the time to award the prize based on a theory that was not fully supported by experimental evidence until the detection of the Higgs boson some 33 years later.
Regards
Steven