Bagels, pretzels and buns: everything you need to know about Nobel physics

Some fairly baffling analogies have been used to explain the work of winners Thouless, Haldane and Kosterlitz. Here ’s the topology behind the pastryBagel, pretzel or cinnamon bun? After announcing theNobel prize in physics on Tuesday morning, Thors Hans Hansson turned to a selection of baked goods to help explain the physics.“The concept of topology may not be familiar to you,” he said at a press conference in Stockholm, brandishing a cinnamon bun, a bagel and a Swedish pretzel. “Now for us these things are different. One is sweet one is salty, they are different shapes. But if you are a topologist there is only o ne thing that is really interesting with these things. This thing (the bun) has no holes, the bagel has one holes, the pretzel has two holes.”Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Nobel prizes Physics Science prizes People in science Source Type: news