American Andrea Ghez and 2 Others Win Nobel Prize in Physics

(STOCKHOLM) — Three scientists won this year’s Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for advancing our understanding of black holes, the all-consuming monsters that lurk in the darkest parts of the universe. Briton Roger Penrose received half of this year’s prize “for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity,” the Nobel Committee said. German Reinhard Genzel and American Andrea Ghez received the second half of the prize “for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the center of our galaxy.” The prize celebrates “one of the most exotic objects in the universe,” black holes, which have become a staple of science fact and science fiction and where time seems to stand still, according to the committee. Black holes are perhaps the most mysterious and powerful objects in astronomy. They are at the center of every galaxy, and smaller ones are dotted around the universe. Nothing, not even light, can escape their incredible gravity. They are the ultimate cosmic dead end. “Black holes, because they are so hard to understand, is what makes them so appealing,’’ Ghez told The Associated Press Tuesday morning. “I really think of science as a big, giant puzzle.” Penrose proved with mathematics that the formation of black holes was possible, based heavily on Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. “Einstein did not himself belie...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized overnight Space wire Source Type: news