Because of the epidemic, the 2020 Nobel Prize will start tomorrow on October 5, and the winners of each prize will be announced in a live webcast on a daily basis.
So the question is, at what age is the most appropriate to win the Nobel Prize?
Last April, the Nature Index published the results of a survey by Rasmus BjΦrk, a physicist at the Technical University of Denmark, on the age of Nobel laureates.
Based on official data disclosed by the Nobel Foundation, Björk collated the ages of the 178 Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry, economics, physiology or medicine at the time of their awards and the ages at which their results were published.
As can be seen from the pictures, on average, physicists are the first to produce results, and they can make scientific discoveries that change the world at the age of 42; but their waiting time is also the longest, waiting for nearly 24 years on average to receive their own Nobel Medal.
Of all the Nobel Prizes in science, physicists are the youngest to conduct their winning research, and chemists are relatively late. Pictured| Rasmus BjΦrk
Chemists have to wait an average of 20 years to win the Nobel Prize, which is already the shortest wait time among Nobel laureates in the analyzed data. Pictured| Rasmus BjΦrk
01 Spirited Queloz: I made a big discovery when I was 29!
The World's Top Scientists Forum (WLF) would like to first introduce a WLF member, Didier Queloz, who has waited no more than 24 years.
During the intensive preparations for the third WLF, Queiroz said in his network connection with the WLF that the process from his learning that his award to the ceremony was a wonderful experience, and he also hoped to bring his scientific enthusiasm to more people.
Queiroz at the 2nd World Top Scientists Forum. The picture | exclusive to WLF
In 1994, the 28-year-old Didier Queiroz was six months away from his Ph.D. graduation. He's fretting about his Ph.D.: detecting an orbiting planet on a star.
It would take a long time to explore the planets, but he was about to graduate soon, and he always felt that he was going to finish. But then came the moment to witness the miracle: he discovered something outside his familiar star, 51 Pegasus.
At first, Queiroz panicked, and he thought that the instrument must have broken down. Later, he pondered and pondered, ruled out all possibilities, and wrote the answer in his mind: what he found was a planet that was orbiting 51 Pegasi. That said, this would be the first known exoplanet in human history to orbit a sun-like star!
He still suspected he had made a mistake and anxiously told his mentor, Michel Mayor, that he might have made a big news.
Queiroz laughed and recalled that At that time, Mayor calmly reassured him and gave him a lot of confidence. Mayor said to him, "Oh yes, maybe you're right, let's take a closer look." ”
Mayor came to the lab to study the data with Queiroz and found solid evidence to argue that this is really a planet. So, at the age of 29, They published this major discovery together.
But Queiroz later learned that Mayor didn't believe Queloz's statement at the time, he just wanted to show his students kindness and not to discourage them from their love of science.
Queiroz says he is truly a very fortunate person to be able to follow a great mentor and have the craziest scientific adventures together, and to achieve major breakthroughs together. Then many people joined them, and then used various technical methods to discover thousands of planets, together to make the field of planetary exploration more vigorous.
Queiroz didn't have to wait until he was 53 years old to get his Nobel Medal in Physics.
02 Oldest Nobel Laureate Goodenough: I'm just the right age
WLF has pushed the story of john Bannister Goodenough, a 98-year-old Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2019 and a professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
The scientist, known as Mr. Good Enough because of his surname, became the oldest winner in the history of the Nobel Prize last year, and this year he is still working the road of scientific research, and in May he published two consecutive Advanced Functional Materials, which has made significant progress in the research and development of new battery materials, which is expected to greatly improve the safety of batteries and enhance battery performance.
"Mr. Good Enough" was born in 1922, the beginning of the oil age. According to Björk's research data, It is clear that Goodinav, who is not in his 50s because of the energy crisis, has begun to think about how to store electricity in tiny packages. This age group, for many people, is already the age of fame and destiny, and Goodenough has just touched a new direction in his career.
In the '70s, regulators in Texas encouraged the use of coal to generate electricity. And now times have changed. People are starting to pay attention to environmental impact.
In 2015, at the age of 93, Goodenough decided to create a safer, lower-cost, and lighter solid-state battery. Even when, like when he was young, his shocking ideas were met with many incomprehensions and cold receptions, he was once again passionate and energetic to plunge into new fields. In an interview with QUARZ, he cheerfully said that the world needs a super battery that can better solve the energy dispute and mitigate the climate crisis, and "I am only 93 years old this year, I still have a long time to work, I hope to solve this problem before I can't move the fries." ”
His brains have led us into an era of new technology, and we can now have lithium-ion battery-powered laptops, mobile phones and electric cars. Perhaps Goodenough, still young and still full of firepower, will bring us new "good enough" technology to solve the fuel problem permanently.
In 2019, the 97-year-old Goodenough said in his Nobel acceptance speech: "Living to the age of 97 made me understand that I can do anything." ”
After winning the Nobel Prize, Goodenough is still active in his laboratory, developing new polymers.
And Goodenough joked in the previous New York Times: "I always meet the right opportunity at the right moment." I am truly grateful that the door has been open to me at different times in my life. Having new ideas at my age is really the most appropriate, because I don't worry about losing my job at all! ”
To become a Nobel laureate, everyone goes through a different path. Some people, such as William Lawrence Bragg, discovered the Prague law of X-ray diffraction at the age of 23, and at the age of 25 became the winner of the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics with his father. To this day, Prague remains the youngest Nobel Laureate in the field of science.
There are also people like Goodenough, who are not afraid of change in the long road of life, nor are they afraid of gossip, and they can still easily say at the age of 100: My age is just right.
Maybe there's no best age in the world. As long as you want, any age, is the best age.
Author: Kai
Source: World Top Scientists Forum Title Map 丨 This newspaper information picture, Photo: Chen Long
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Source: People's Daily client