Who is a Nobel Prize winner. How much is the Nobel Prize

Alfred Nobel

In 1888, Alfred Nobel read his own obituary in a French newspaper entitled "Death Merchant Is Dead", published by reporters' mistake. The article made Nobel think about how humanity will remember him. After that, he decided to change his will. On December 10, 1896, Alfred Nobel died at his villa in Sanremo, Italy, from a cerebral hemorrhage.

The testament of Alfred Nobel, drawn up by him on November 27, 1895, was announced in January 1897:

Nobel's testament

“All my movable and immovable property must be turned into liquid values by my executors, and the capital thus collected is placed in a reliable bank. The income from investments should belong to the fund, which will distribute them annually in the form of bonuses to those who during the previous year have brought the greatest benefit to mankind ... The indicated percentages must be divided into five equal parts, which are intended: one part - to the one who makes the most important discovery or invention in the field of physics; the other to the one who makes the most important discovery or improvement in the field of chemistry; the third - to the one who will make the most important discovery in the field of physiology or medicine; the fourth - to the one who creates the most outstanding literary work idealistic direction; fifth - to the one who has made the most significant contribution to the rallying of nations, the abolition of slavery or the reduction of the existing armies and the promotion of peace congresses ... My particular desire is that the nationality of candidates should not be taken into account when awarding prizes ... "

This will was initially greeted with skepticism. Only on April 26, 1897 was it approved by the Storting of Norway. The executors of Nobel's will, secretary Ragnar Sulman and lawyer Rudolf Lilekvist, organized the Nobel Foundation to take care of the execution of his will and organize the presentation of prizes.

According to Nobel's instructions, the Norwegian Nobel Committee, whose members were appointed in April 1897 shortly after the will went into effect, became responsible for awarding the Peace Prize. After some time, the organizations presenting the rest of the awards were determined. June 7 became responsible for the presentation of the prize in the field of physiology and medicine; On June 9, the Swedish Academy was granted the right to present the Literature Prize; June 11 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is recognized as responsible for awarding the prizes in physics and chemistry. On June 29, 1900, the Nobel Foundation was founded for the purpose of managing finances and organizing the Nobel Prizes. Agreements were reached at the Nobel Foundation on basic principles awards, and in 1900 the foundation's newly created charter was adopted by King Oscar II. In 1905, the Swedish-Norwegian Union was dissolved. Since then, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has been responsible for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize, and Swedish organizations responsible for the rest of the awards.

Prize Rules

The main document regulating the rules for awarding the prize is the statute of the Nobel Foundation.

The Prize can only be awarded to individuals and not to institutions (other than Peace Prizes). The Peace Prize can be awarded both to individuals and to official and public organizations.

According to § 4 of the statute, one or two works can be encouraged at the same time, but at the same time total number awarded should not exceed three. Although this rule was introduced only in 1968, it has always been de facto observed. Wherein cash reward is divided between the laureates as follows: the prize is first divided equally among the works, and then equally among their authors. Thus, if two different discoveries are awarded, one of which was made by two, then they receive 1/4 of the monetary part of the award. And if one discovery is awarded, which was made by two or three, everyone receives equally (1/2 or 1/3 of the prize, respectively)

It also states in § 4 that the prize cannot be awarded posthumously. However, if the applicant was alive at the time of the announcement of the award to him (usually in October), but died before the award ceremony (December 10 of the current year), then the award remains with him. This rule was adopted in 1974 and the prize has been awarded posthumously twice before: to Erik Karlfeldt in 1931 and to Dag Hammarskjöld in 1961. However, in 2011, the rule was broken when, by decision of the Nobel Committee, Ralph Steinman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine posthumously, because at the time of the award, the Nobel Committee considered him alive.

According to § 5 of the statute, the prize may not be awarded to anyone at all if the members of the relevant committee have not found worthy works among those put forward for competition. In this case, the prize funds are kept until the next year. If the next year the prize was not awarded, the funds are transferred to the closed reserve of the Nobel Foundation.

Nobel Prizes

Nobel's will provided for the allocation of funds for awards to representatives of only five areas:

Physics (awarded with, in Sweden);
Chemistry (awarded with, in Sweden);
Physiology and Medicine (awarded with, in Sweden);
Literature (awarded with, in Sweden);
Promoting World Peace (awarded from , in Norway).

In addition, apart from Nobel's testament, since 1969, on the initiative of the Swedish Bank, a prize in his name in economics has also been awarded. It is awarded under the same conditions as other Nobel Prizes. In the future, the board of the Nobel Foundation decided to no longer increase the number of nominations.

The laureate is required to deliver the so-called "Nobel Memorial Lecture", which is then published by the Nobel Foundation in a special volume.

Number of Nobel laureates from various countries

The size of the Nobel Prize

Award procedure

Award presentation

The awarding process is preceded by big job which is being all year round numerous organizations around the world. In October, the laureates are already finally approved and announced. The final selection of laureates is carried out by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institute and the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The awarding procedure takes place annually, on December 10, in the capitals of two countries - Sweden and Norway. In Stockholm, prizes in the field of physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine, literature and economics are awarded by the King of Sweden, and in the field of peace protection - by the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee - in Oslo, in the city hall, in the presence of the King of Norway and members of the royal family. Along with a cash prize, the size of which varies depending on the income received from the Nobel Foundation, the laureates are awarded a medal with his image and a diploma.

The first Nobel Banquet took place on December 10, 1901, at the same time as the first award ceremony. Currently, the banquet is held in the Blue Hall of the City Hall. 1300-1400 people are invited to the banquet. Dress code - tailcoats and evening dresses. The chefs of the Town Hall Cellar (town hall restaurant) and chefs who have ever received the title of Chef of the Year are involved in the development of the menu. In September, three menu options are tasted by members of the Nobel Committee, who decide what will be served "at the Nobel table." Only dessert is always known - ice cream, but until the evening of December 10, no one, except for a narrow circle of initiates, knows what kind.

For the Nobel banquet, a service and tablecloths with a specially designed design are used. Nobel's portrait is woven on the corner of each tablecloth and napkin. Handmade crockery: a strip of three colors Swedish Empire - blue, green and gold. The leg of a crystal wine glass is decorated in the same range. The banquet service was commissioned for $1.6 million for the 90th anniversary of the Nobel Prizes in 1991. It consists of 6750 glasses, 9450 knives and forks, 9550 plates and one tea cup. The last one is for Princess Liliana, who doesn't drink coffee. The cup is stored in a special beautiful wooden box with the princess's monogram. The saucer from the cup was stolen.

The tables in the hall are arranged with mathematical precision, and the hall is decorated with 23,000 flowers sent from San Remo. All movements of the waiters are strictly timed to the nearest second. For example, the ice cream ceremonial takes exactly three minutes from the moment the first waiter appears with a tray at the door until the last of them stands at his table. Serving other dishes takes two minutes.

The banquet ends with the removal of ice cream topped like a crown with a chocolate monogram-monogram "N". At 22:15, the Swedish king gives a sign to start dancing in the Golden Hall of the Town Hall. At 1:30 the guests disperse.

Absolutely all dishes from the menu, from 1901 onwards, can be ordered at the restaurant of the town hall of Stockholm. Such a meal costs a little less than $200. Every year they are ordered by 20 thousand visitors, and traditionally the menu of the last Nobel banquet is the most popular.

Nobel concert

Nobel concert- one of the three components of the Nobel week along with the awarding of prizes and the Nobel dinner. It is considered one of the main musical events of the year in Europe and the main musical event of the year in the Scandinavian countries. The most prominent classical musicians of our time take part in it. In fact, there are two Nobel concerts: one is held on December 8 of each year in Stockholm, the second - in Oslo at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

Nobel Prize Equivalents

Many areas of science remained "uncovered" by the Nobel Prize. Due to the fame and prestige of the Nobel Prizes, the most prestigious awards in other fields are often referred to informally as "Nobel Prizes".

Mathematics and Computer Science

Initially, Nobel included mathematics in the list of sciences for which the prize is awarded, but later crossed it out, replacing it with the Peace Prize. The exact reason is unknown. There are many legends associated with this fact, poorly supported by facts. Most often this is associated with the name of the Swedish mathematician, the leader of the Swedish mathematics of that time, Mittag-Leffler, whom Nobel disliked for some reason. Among these reasons, either the courtship of the mathematician for the bride of Nobel, or the fact that he importunately asked for donations to Stockholm University, is called. Being one of the most prominent mathematicians in Sweden at that time, Mittag-Leffler was also the main contender for this very prize.

Another version: Nobel had a lover, Anna Desri, who later fell in love with Franz Lemarge and married him. Franz was the son of a diplomat and at that time was going to become a mathematician.

According to the director of the executive committee of the Nobel Foundation: “There is not a word about this in the archives. Rather, mathematics simply did not fall within the scope of Nobel's interests. He bequeathed money for prizes in areas close to him. Thus, stories of brides gone and mathematicians screwing up should be interpreted as legends or anecdotes.

The "equivalents" of the Nobel Prize in mathematics are the Fields Prize and the Abel Prize, in computer science the Turing Prize.

Economy

Unofficially, this is the name of the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economics in memory of Alfred Nobel. The award was established by the Bank of Sweden in 1969. Unlike other prizes awarded at the Nobel Prize Ceremony, funds for this prize are not allocated from the legacy of Alfred Nobel. Therefore, the question of whether to consider this prize "true Nobel" is debatable. The winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics is announced on October 12; The awards ceremony takes place in Stockholm on 10 December each year.

Art

Each year, His Imperial Highness Prince Hitachi, honorary patron of the Japan Arts Association, presents five "Imperial Prize (Praemium Imperiale)" awards, which he says fill a gap in the Nobel Committee's nominations - specially designed medals, diplomas and cash prizes in five areas of the arts : painting, sculpture, architecture, music, theater/cinema. The reward is 15 million yen, which is equal to 195 thousand dollars.

Criticism of the award

Actual non-compliance with the will

According to Nobel's will, the prize should be awarded for discoveries, inventions and achievements made in the year of the award. This provision is de facto not respected.

Natural Science Prizes

A number of scientists die before their discoveries or inventions pass the "test of time" necessary for awarding the prize. There is also a tendency to award prizes to representatives of the same scientific schools.

Humanitarian awards

Compliance of the laureates of the prize in literature with the official criteria for its award raised questions as early as the beginning of the 20th century [ clarify] .

Multiple awards

Prizes (other than peace prizes) can only be awarded once, but there have been a few exceptions to this rule in the history of the award. Only four people have been awarded the Nobel Prize twice:

Maria Skłodowska-Curie, in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911.
Linus Pauling, in chemistry in 1954 and the Peace Prize in 1962.
John Bardeen, two prizes in physics, in 1956 and 1972.
Frederik Senger, two prizes in chemistry, in 1958 and 1980.

Organizations

The International Committee of the Red Cross was awarded the Peace Prize three times, in 1917, 1944 and 1963.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has received the Peace Prize twice, in 1954 and 1981.

Nobel Prize in Art

Ig Nobel Prize

Ig Nobel Prizes, Ignobel Prize, Antinobel Prize(English) Ig Nobel Prize) is a parody of the Nobel Prize. Ten Ig Nobel Prizes are awarded in early October, that is, at the time when the winners of the real Nobel Prize are named, for achievements that first cause laughter, and then make you think ( first make people laugh, and then make them think). The award was established by Mark Abrahams and the humor magazine Annals of Incredible Research.

Notes

Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin. - 2001. - P. 5.
Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin. - 2001. - P. 11.
Golden, Frederick. The Worst And The Brightest," Time magazine, Time Warner(October 16, 2000). Retrieved April 9, 2010.
Sohlman, Ragnar. - 1983. - P. 13.
Compuart magazine. Calendar of significant dates. Nikolai Dubina
From dynamite to Viagra. Kommersant. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin. - 2001. - P. 13–25.
Abrams, Irwin. - 2001. - P. 7–8.
Crawford, Elizabeth T.. - 1984. - P. 1.
Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin. - 2001. - P. 14.
AFP Alfred Nobel's last will and testament. The Local(October 5, 2009). Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
Statutes of the Nobel Foundation. Nobel Foundation. archived
What the Nobel Laureates Receive. Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
Nomination FAQ. Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
Canadian scientist to win posthumous Nobel Prize Lenta.ru(October 3, 2011). Retrieved April 5, 2012.
The monetary equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Reference
Dynamics of the cross-rate of the Swedish krona against the US dollar. Reference
[ITAR-TASS June 12, 2012. The size of the Nobel Prize has decreased…

- international annual awards for outstanding scientific research, revolutionary inventions or major contributions to culture or society, named after the founder (Alfred Bernhard Nobel) , Swedish chemical engineer, inventor and industrialist.

Nobel Prize is awarded annually for achievements in the following areas of human activity:

Physics - since 1901, Sweden;
Chemistry - since 1901, Sweden;
Medicine and physiology - since 1901, Sweden;
Literature - since 1901, Sweden;
Protection of the world - since 1901, Norway.
Economics - since 1969, Sweden;

https://news.mail.ru/society/2945723/

Prizes are awarded according to Nobel's will:

Organizers: Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm (for physics, chemistry, economics), Royal Institute of Medicine and Surgery in Stockholm (for physiology or medicine) and Swedish Academy in Stockholm (for literature); in Norway, the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Parliament, awards the Nobel Prize for peace-building activities.
Nobel Prizes are awarded to candidates regardless of their race, nationality, gender or creed for latest achievements and for earlier works if their significance became apparent later.
All Nobel Prizes, except for the Peace Prize, can only be awarded to individuals and only once. As an exception, the Nobel Prizes were awarded twice to M. Sklodowska-Curie (in 1903 and 1911), L. Pauling (in 1954 and 1962) and J. Bardin (in 1956 and 1972). As a rule, Nobel Prizes are not awarded posthumously.
The right to nominate candidates for the prize is used only by private individuals, the circle of which is determined by the regulation on each type of Nobel Prize. Proposals for nominations are sent by February 1 to the respective six committees.
Discussion of candidates and voting are held in strict secrecy, disagreements on candidates are not recorded in the minutes of the meetings. Only the decision and its brief motivation are published in the press (no motivation is given for peace prizes). Decisions to award awards are not subject to appeal or cancellation.
Solemn Nobel Prize ceremonies are held in Stockholm and Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.
By position Nobel laureate must, within six months of receiving the prize, give a Nobel Memorial Lecture (a popular lecture on the subject of his work), usually in Stockholm or Oslo. The lecture is then published by the Nobel Foundation in a special volume.

Nobel Prize Winners

Nobel Prize winners will be determined by areas of achievement:

Peace Prize
Literature Prize
Physics Prize
Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Chemistry Prize
Economics Prize

Nobel Prize in Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature is an annual award given by the Nobel Foundation for achievements in the field of literature. The Literature Prize has been awarded since 1901. The first Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the French poet and essayist René François Armand Prudhomme "for outstanding literary virtues, especially for high idealism, artistic perfection, and also for the extraordinary combination of sincerity and talent, as evidenced by his books."

From 1901 to the present, 107 prizes have been awarded. During these years, the prize was not awarded and was not awarded only 7 times: in 1914, 1918, 1935 and in the period from 1940 to 1943.

Nobel Prize in Physics

The Nobel Prize in Physics is an annual prize awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Established by Alfred Nobel in 1895. The first Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded in 1901 to the German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen "in recognition of the extraordinary merits to science, expressed in the discovery of remarkable rays, subsequently named after him."
Since 1901, 201 Nobel Prizes in physics have been awarded. 200 people became laureates of the prize in physics.
The prize in physics was not awarded only six times - in 1916, 1931, 1934, 1940, 1941 and 1942.

What year was the Nobel Prize established?

After his death, Alfred Nobel bequeathed

« ... The income from investments should belong to the fund, which will distribute them annually in the form of bonuses to those who during the previous year have brought the greatest benefit to mankind ... The indicated percentages must be divided into five equal parts, which are intended: one part - to the one who makes the most important discovery or an invention in the field of physics; the other to the one who makes the most important discovery or improvement in the field of chemistry; the third - to the one who will make the most important discovery in the field of physiology or medicine; the fourth - to the one who will create the most outstanding literary work of an idealistic direction; fifth, to the one who has made the most significant contribution to the rallying of nations, the abolition of slavery or the reduction of the existing armies and the promotion of peaceful congresses ... My particular desire is that the nationality of candidates should not be taken into account in awarding prizes ...»

On April 26, 1897 A. Nobel's will was approved by the Storting of Norway. The executors of Nobel's will, secretary Ragnar Sulman and lawyer Rudolf Lilekvist, organized the Nobel Foundation to take care of the execution of his will and organize the presentation of the prize.

Albert Einstein Nobel Prize 1921

He was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Physics, but members of the Nobel Committee for a long time did not dare to award the prize to the author of such a revolutionary theory as the theory of relativity.

Committee member A. Gullstrand, laureate of the 1911 Physiology or Medicine Prize, believed that the theory of relativity would not stand the test of time.

But in 1922, the Nobel Prize for 1921 was awarded to Einstein for the theory of the photoelectric effect, that is, for the most indisputable and well-tested work in the experiment; however, the text of the decision contained a neutral addition: "and for other work in the field of theoretical physics."

Nobel Prize. Only the deaf have not heard of it. The most honorable reward for the luminaries of science, culture and art. This is a kind of Oscar, but not for those who shine on the big screen, but for those who reveal the secrets of nature in a small room or write a literary masterpiece.

However, how much is this gratitude expressed today? In this article, we will figure out how much money they give for the Nobel Prize, for example, in 2015 or 2016, and why the amount used to constantly vary, but now it has received its own standard. And so, let's go.

History of the award

As is usually the case, we'll start with history, in this case the history of how the award was born.

The award itself bears its name in honor of the Swedish inventor, engineer and industrialist Alfred Bernhard Nobel. In addition to the fact that the monetary reward bears his name, the money for this is also allocated from his fund.

The ceremony dates back to 1901, since then a special commission has determined the best in the fields of medicine, chemistry, physiology, literature, physics and the defense of the world. Since 1969, the economy has been added to this list. It is not known whether we should expect another expansion of the list, but in any case, there is no discussion at the official level about this.

The appearance of the award

Here, in general, you can retell almost the legend about this case. Her appearance is usually associated with one tragic situation that occurred in the life of Alfred Nobel.

As you know, he is considered the inventor of dynamite, and so, in 1889, due to negligence, his brother Ludwig died suddenly, after which a negligent journalist mentioned Alfred as a death dealer. Of course, he did not like it, and he absolutely did not want to die, leaving such a terrible memory of himself.

Therefore, he decided to clean up his karma, so to speak, and in his will asked to sell all his, by the way, not small property, but to buy securities with the money received, with the help of which the fund was founded. Those percentages that remained after the initial capital, the scientist obliged to distribute among the top five specialists in their field (I have already described the nominations above).

Reward size

Well, here we come to the main question. At the very beginning, it was difficult to determine the exact amount of payments, since it directly depended on the accumulated interest. However, it is safe to say that the first payment was 150 thousand Swiss crowns.

Since then, its amount has only increased and reached a million and a half dollars. However, as it turned out, recent times percent was not enough for the ceremony, the maintenance of the administration and the award itself. That is, the balance went negative. And if the fund goes bankrupt, then there will be no bonus.

Therefore, it was decided to fix the amount of the payment at the level of 1.1 million dollars, so that the premium would be paid as long as possible, and maybe indefinitely. How much is it in rubles is easy to calculate.

Do you know that thanks to Nobel's relatives, there might not have been a prize at all. Since they were not very satisfied with the last wish of the inventor, they decided through the court to challenge his will and divide all the property that he owned among themselves. Fortunately for the future scientists and cultural figures, they did not succeed, although each received 2 million crowns after the proceedings.

Such is the case, friends. Let's not forget this glorious man who passed away not as a merchant of death, but as a worthy person and philanthropist. We wish the Foundation years existence, no matter what outstanding person, including in Russia, in his business he was not deprived of a prize for success.

All the best to you!

The Nobel Committee announced this year's laureates in chemistry, physics, economics, medicine and biology, and also presented the Peace Prize. At the same time, the essence of scientific discoveries that were awarded the Nobel is often unclear to people who are far from the world of science. The Village asked a physicist, biologist, chemist, economist and country specialist Latin America in simple words explain why they gave the Nobel this year and how these discoveries can be useful for you and me.

French scientists win Nobel Prize in Chemistry Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Fraser Stoddart and Bernard Feringa for the design and synthesis of molecular machines.

When we talk about molecular machines, we are talking about the so-called catenan molecules linked to each other in the form of a chain. It turned out that if you create many such cyclic pairs, that is, a long chain, then the rotation of these rings one relative to the other leads to the movement of the molecule forward. This is how the molecular machine is created.

This year, the Nobel Prize was awarded to three laureates who worked independently of each other. One first synthesized a simple combination of two rings and showed that, moving relative to each other, they can go forward. The second took one molecule in the form of a rod and put a few more rings on this rod. And it turned out that at right conditions rings rotating around this rod can rise up. And the third researcher created a combination, and his molecular machine can move in different directions like a helicopter that rises due to the rotation of the propeller. The molecular machine will work on the same principle.

Imagine a microwave. We put a cup of water on a stand, and it starts spinning from the energy that it gives electrical appliance. It turned out that molecular machines can also set objects in motion, and those objects that exceed the weight of these machines by thousands and even millions of times.

Molecular machines will not be put into practice either today or next year. But these discoveries will give impetus to new research to create more powerful mechanisms. It's like the discovery of a laser beam that can charge a mobile phone at a distance of two to three kilometers. It would seem that this is not such a discovery. And then it turned out that with the same laser beam with a different power it is possible to charge spaceships. Several years have passed from one experiment to another, and it will certainly be the same with molecular machines.

Molecular machines can be used in any device that will move heavier objects. One of the scientists demonstrated the movement of a liter flask on a device that moved thanks to catenanes. We are talking about the prospect of using these machines in the most different areas in biology, medicine, and Food Industry. For example, with the help of molecular machines, we will be able to deliver drugs to the body. Such a small molecule, consisting of only two rings, will be able to deliver the drug exactly to the target.

Valery Petrosyan

professor of the department organic chemistry, Head of the Laboratory of Physical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov

Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology received by professor at Tokyo University of Technology Yoshinori Osumi for discoveries in the field of cell autophagy

Nikolai Kontarov

candidate biological sciences, Senior Researcher medical university named after Sechenov

Autophagy is the degradation of proteins resulting in cell death. It is associated with a process such as apoptosis, that is, programmed cell death. If death occurs as a result of some external causes, this is called necrosis. For example, inflammation occurs and the cell dies because of it. But there are times when a cell decides to leave on its own - this is something like suicide, and one of the methods for such cellular suicide is autophagy.

There comes a time when the cell simply cannot provide for itself and begins to work for wear and tear. At this point, it should leave with the help of the autophagy mechanism. But sometimes apoptosis happens for unknown reasons, and this leads to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. If the autophagy mechanism is impaired in a person, the cells degrade rather slowly and eventually become redundant. And in such cells, harmful changes can occur. For example, a cell cannot provide itself with enzymes that ensure DNA repair, and this can provoke mutations and breaks, and subsequently a tumor.

There are two ways of autophagy. The first is due to the presence of protosomes, that is, protein complexes that are involved in the degradation of other cellular proteins. Thus, when all proteins are degraded, the cell dies.
For the study of this mechanism, the Nobel Prize was given in 2004.

At the same time, studies were underway on the problem of protein degradation in membrane-coated structures, that is, in lysosomes. Protein degradation occurs in them, which also leads to cell death. That is final goal the same, but the process is different. In one case, proteins in the protosomes take part in the process, and in the other, proteins are degraded inside the membrane structure of the lysosome. Actually, the current Nobel is dedicated to the latter.

The practical application of this discovery relates primarily to medicine, in particular the study of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. It is believed that in these diseases, the formation of similar structures occurs in nerve cells, but why nerve cells decide to die themselves is still unclear.

The scientific community is hopeful that the new mechanism of autophagy will shed light on this. On the other hand, the discovery can be applied in embryology. This is important in light of the growing popularity of in vitro fertilization. Knowing the mechanism of autophagy means that we will be able to control the process of embryo formation.

Briton wins Nobel Prize in Economics Oliver Hart and Finn Bengt Holmstrom for contributions to the development of contract theory

The concept of "contract theory" looks unusual for those who are not professionally involved in this problem. In essence, it is about how the parties to the contract approach the definition of its essential conditions, without having the full necessary information. Interestingly, the laureates were able to present in the form of a mathematical model that part of the contract that is known to the participants by default, but different reasons cannot be put on paper and, accordingly, is not the subject of litigation.

Many believe that the topic of contracts is more related to jurisprudence than to economics, but trust in this moment- one of the key economic categories. Higher risks and, accordingly, a lower degree of trust between the parties to the contract implies a higher price. For example, in Russian conditions, due to lack of trust, interest rates on loans remain very high, projects are not implemented on the basis of public-private partnerships, and demand for state-owned objects planned for privatization is low.

The practical application of the research results of the nominees Oliver Hart and Bengt Holström will help improve the conditions for the implementation of contracts for each of the participants, that is, increase the level of trust between them. The widespread use of these principles can lead to a reduction in contract prices and become one of the factors in reducing inflation.

Nevertheless, the choice of winners was rather unexpected. Most experts were inclined to believe that the Nobel Prize in Economics would be given for fundamental macroeconomic research or for the development of the theory of motivation.

Andrey Margolin

Vice-Rector of RANEPA, Doctor of Economics

An American won this year's Nobel Prize in Physics David Thouless, British Duncan Haldane and Scot Michael Kosterlitz for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter

Alexander Golubov

Head of the Laboratory of Topological Quantum Phenomena in Superconducting Systems, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology

Kosterlitz and Thouless and independently of them, the Soviet theoretical physicist Vadim Berezinsky in the early 1970s described a model of the state of a two-dimensional film in a superconducting system - that is, in a metal that loses electrical resistance at very low temperatures. Prior to this, it was believed for a long time that superconductivity is impossible in a two-dimensional system.

The scientists proved the possibility of existence of superconductivity in a two-dimensional system and showed an interesting topological phase transition between the superconducting phase at low temperatures and the normal phase at high temperatures. They differ in that at low temperatures, magnetic flux vortices are spontaneously generated - more precisely, a pair of vortices that are destroyed when high temperature and form single vortices.

What is a topological phase transition? The very mathematical definition of “topological” means the continuity of various objects during deformation: for example, if we use the terminology of donuts and holes, then a clay ball and a bowl molded from it are objects of the same topology that can be transferred from one to another by transformation without breaks.
But a clay ball and a clay donut are bodies of different topologies: in order to get a donut, you need to make a hole in the ball.

The usual phase transition can be observed, for example, during the melting of metals, when they pass from solid state into liquid. This transition changes the crystal lattice of the metal and slightly moves its atoms, but does not make any cardinal changes in its internal state, does not change the topology. The topological phase transition changes geometric properties system and that's enough unusual phenomenon. And just the vortices shown by Kosterlitz and Thouless change the topology of the object.

The discovery of topological phase transitions could lead to the creation of a quantum computer, which could be much more powerful than today's computers. An ordinary computer works in a binary system: information in it is encoded by the numbers 0 and 1. A quantum processor is an analog system, it obeys not only zeros and ones, but has greater degree freedom. Thus, there are additional methods of encoding information and parallel computing. In addition, a conventional computer runs on silicon conductors, while a quantum one needs a different material base, which scientists have not yet been able to find.

A lot of work is being done on the quantum computer different groups scientists, and some have almost created it, but there is a problem with the time of work. Scientists who design qubits - the smallest information storage elements in a quantum computer - are thinking about how to keep their quantum state for a long time, because it is easily destroyed by interaction with external environment. And this leads to calculation errors.

It's been 52 years now Colombia is engulfed in a real civil war. Rather, it is not so much Civil War how much confrontation between the ruling forces of the country on the one hand and a number of terrorist organizations on the other, which at first covered themselves with the Marxist-Leninist banner, and after the fall of the USSR began to trade in weapons, drugs and kidnapping. From time to time they tried to conduct a dialogue with them, but there was no result.

In the end everything global community demanded that Colombia resolve this issue, especially since the conflict between state armed forces and terrorists claimed more than 200 thousand lives, and more than 4 million Colombians were forced to move to other places. Neighboring states also suffered because terrorist organizations violated the borders, and this is a fundamental problem, given the local landscape. In addition, the terrorists made a lot of money from drugs and arms smuggling, so it was easy for them to support themselves and recruit young people into their ranks. Imagine a young poor Brazilian who is given 20 thousand dollars and a rifle in his hands. Of course, he will agree to join the ranks of the radicals.

Last President Colombian Juan Manuel Santos tried to put an end to this. For four years in neutral territory, in Cuba, the Colombian government and the country's largest terrorist organization, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, negotiated. In the end, they reached an agreement that the terrorists would lay down their arms and cease their activities. They were even offered a few seats in the Colombian Congress to establish their own political party. After that, the President decided to hold a referendum on this agreement - for the Colombian citizens to speak out whether they agree or not.

At the same time, the majority of Colombians said "no" in the referendum. The fact is that this longstanding confrontation has affected every Latin American family, because so many people died. And those who said “no” in the referendum actually spoke out against the impunity of criminals: these people considered that particularly cruel terrorists should still be punished.

The fact that the truce was achieved at the cost of enormous efforts gave the President of Colombia the right to receive the Nobel Peace Prize deservedly. But on the other hand, the second phase of negotiations is just beginning, where options for punishing the leaders of terrorist organizations will be discussed.

Vladimir Sudarev

Deputy Director of the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Among the discoveries whose authors were awarded the Nobel Prize are x-rays, penicillin and the hadron collider. Among the Nobel Peace Prize winners is Nelson Mandela, 14th Dalai Lama. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Selma Lagerlöf, Ernest Hemingway are just some of the outstanding writers who have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature (more recently, she became one of the Nobel Prize winners). The award has been awarded since 1901 in five categories: in physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine, in literature, as well as for achievements in the field of peacekeeping. The solemn ceremony of awarding the prize takes place annually on the same day - December 10th. Laureates in the first five nominations come to the capital of Sweden from all over the world in order to receive a gold medal and a cash prize from their hands.

After the ceremony, a magnificent banquet awaits them in the city hall, where they are invited, in addition to the laureates and their families, royalty, the Prime Minister and representatives of Parliament and a number of high-ranking guests from different countries. The Nobel Peace Prize, however, is not awarded in Stockholm, but at the Opera House in Oslo on the same day.

The legacy of Alfred Nobel

The Nobel Prize is the property of the Swedish scientist, inventor and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel (1833-1896). It was he who bequeathed his whole fortune to the creation of a fund, the funds from which should be awarded to those who, during last year made a special contribution to the history of mankind. At the same time, Nobel insisted that this award be given to outstanding scientists, writers and public figures regardless of their country of origin.

Inventor, philosopher, entrepreneur

Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm, the son of the inventor and industrialist Emmanuel Nobel, whose irrepressible energy and entrepreneurial ambitions later brought the Nobel family to St. Petersburg. There, Nobel's father worked on the development of torpedoes, and soon became interested in experiments to create explosives. The son of Emmanuel Nobel, Alfred, soon became interested in these experiments. Already at the age of 17, he declared himself as a gifted chemist. By the way, Alfred Nobel did not graduate from higher educational institutions However, he received an excellent education thanks to the private tutors his father found for him. He subsequently studied chemistry in Paris and also in the United States. By the end of his life, he was the owner of 355 patents for various inventions. Nobel managed to live and work, in addition to his native Sweden, in Russia, France, Great Britain, Germany and Italy. He was fluent in five languages: Russian, English, German, French and Swedish. In addition, he was a great admirer of literature, wrote poetry and composed plays.

Laureates 2018

Chemistry

Francis Arnold, USA
George Smith, USA
Gregory Winter, UK

"for his work on the directed evolution of chemical molecules."

Literature

No Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded in 2018.

Physics

Arthur Ashkin, USA
Gerard Mouroux, France
Donna Strickland, Canada

"For pioneering research in laser physics."

Medicine and physiology

James Ellison, USA
Tasuku Honjo, Japan

"for their discovery of a therapy for cancer by inhibition of negative immune regulation."

Nobel Peace Prize

Denis Mukwege, Congo
Nadia Murad, Iraq

"For his efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon in wars and conflicts."

Alfred Nobel Memorial Economic Prize

William Nordhaus, USA
Paul Romer, USA

"For integrating climate change and technological innovation into long-term macroeconomic analysis."

Alfred Nobel. Photo: The Nobel Foundation

The Godfather of Dynamite

His name is primarily associated with the invention of dynamite, a powerful explosive that began to be actively used in construction and the military industry during the life of Nobel. This invention, backed by Alfred Nobel, became one of the engines of the industrial age. A certain paradox lies in the fact that Nobel, having contributed to the invention of explosives and modern species weapons, while he was a pacifist and recklessly believed that the creation of powerful weapons would inevitably lead to the rejection of weapons by mankind. Many believe that Nobel therefore bequeathed his entire fortune to the establishment of the prize, as he was burdened by his involvement in deadly inventions and wanted to rehabilitate his name after death.

Why in Norway?

In his will, Nobel insisted that the Peace Prize be awarded in Oslo, however, he did not leave any explanation why it was there. Someone even tried to suggest that he chose Norway because he admired the talent of the Norwegian poet Bjørnesterne Bjornson (who, by the way, later won the Nobel Prize in Literature), but there are still no serious arguments in favor of this version.

In 1905, the Austrian Baroness Bertha von Suttner became the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, receiving the award in recognition of her services to the peace movement in Austria and Germany. In addition, Berta was well acquainted with Nobel, they kept a heartfelt correspondence until the end of Alfred's life. It is known that it was she who inspired the inventor to ensure that the Nobel Prize was awarded in this nomination as well.

Later, Theodore Roosevelt (1906), Martin Luther King (1964), Mother Teresa (1979) became laureates of the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 1993 the prize was divided into two: Nelson Mandela and Frederick Willem de Klerk were noted by her for overthrowing the apartheid regime in South Africa.

51 women

For more than centennial history The Nobel Prize - from 1901 to 2015 - women became its laureates 52 times. Marie Curie was awarded twice - in physics in 1903, and in chemistry in 1911.

In total, in the entire history of the award, one can count:

17 Women Nobel Peace Prize Laureates
14 Women Nobel Prize Winners in Literature
12 - in medicine and physiology
5 - in chemistry
3 - in physics
1 - Economic Prize in memory of Alfred Nobel.

In total, since 1901, about 935 individuals and organizations have become Nobel Prize winners. To be more precise, 904 awards were given to individuals, 24 to organizations (some received the Nobel Prize several times).

Rejected Nobel Prize

Among the laureates who refused honorary award and never appeared in the Stockholm City Hall in order to receive the coveted prize - the writer Jean-Paul Sartre and Boris Pasternak. The first neglected the prize because, on principle, he refused any form of public recognition of his talent, and the second was forced to reject it under pressure from the Soviet government.

Nobel Prize in Literature 2015 Svetlana Aleksievich. Photo: TT

Who selects candidates and how?

Applicants for Nobel Prizes are selected and considered by several scientific institutes. Namely:

Per Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences the right to award the Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry is secured, and the winner of the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics is also chosen there. The Academy of Sciences was founded in 1739 as an independent organization designed to develop science and promote practical application discoveries. At present, the Academy of Sciences has 450 Swedish and 175 foreign members.

Swedish Academy- a separate organization responsible for the selection of candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Founded in 1786, consists of 18 members who are elected for life.

Nobel Committee at the Karolinska Institute annually awards the Nobel Prize to those who have made significant discoveries in the field of medicine and physiology. The Karolinska Institute is the most respected scientific medical institution in Sweden, and the scientific community abroad also respects it. Applications for the Nobel Prize in Medicine are studied by 50 professors at the Karolinska Institute, who also choose the winners.

Norwegian Nobel Committee is responsible for presenting the Peace Prize - it is awarded to those who have made a significant contribution to "strengthening the brotherhood among peoples, disarming armies and promoting the ideas of peace." The Norwegian Committee was founded in 1897 and consists of five members appointed by the Norwegian Parliament.

The deadline for submitting information about candidates to the Nobel Committee is always the same - January 31. Every year, the list of candidates for the prize in the field of literature, physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, as well as economics, established by the Swedish State Bank in 1968 in memory of Alfred Nobel, contains from 250 to 300 names, which can be made public only after 50 years.

Starting February 1, the Committee and a number of other institutions will launch a complex and shrouded in mystery process to select applications and determine laureates. During the second week of October, the names of the laureates are announced in strict order, one per day, starting with the Nobel Prize in Medicine winner on Monday and ending with the Peace Prize winner on Friday. The winner of the Alfred Nobel Prize in Economics will be announced the following Monday. As a rule, the laureates themselves learn about the awarding of the prize a few minutes before the start of the official press conferences.

The economics prize is not a Nobel

It is worth clarifying that the prize in economics, which is often considered a Nobel Prize, is actually not such, since Alfred Nobel himself had nothing to do with its establishment. This award is for achievements in the field of economics in memory of Alfred Nobel, which has been awarded by the Swedish Central Bank since 1968, approximately according to the same principles as the Nobel Prizes.

So why is there no prize in mathematics? ..

The story that the Nobel Prize in mathematics is not awarded because Alfred Nobel allegedly ran away from his wife with a mathematics teacher, in fact, is nothing more than a delusion. The fact is that Nobel was never married at all. According to Nobel's will, the prize should be awarded to those who made a discovery or invention that brought obvious benefits to all mankind. Thus, mathematics was excluded from the outset as an abstract science.

What is the Nobel Prize for?

Each laureate is awarded gold medal with a recognizable silhouette of Alfred Nobel, a diploma and a cash prize, the exact amount of which is not known, however, according to existing data, it is about 1 million dollars or 8 million Swedish kronor. The amount may vary from year to year, and also depending on how many laureates share the award in one nomination.

Banquet for all banquets

The Nobel Banquet is a grandiose event that solemnly takes place annually on December 10 in the Blue Hall in the Stockholm City Hall in the presence of 1300 guests. To say that they are preparing thoroughly for this banquet means to say nothing. Hundreds of chefs working miracles in the kitchen, waiters and service staff specially trained in how to welcome high-ranking guests from all over the world - every little thing is strictly monitored here so that the celebration goes smoothly. Each laureate can bring 14 guests to the banquet, in addition to spouses and partners. The banquet is always attended by one of the representatives of the Alfred Nobel family, as well as The Royal Family Sweden.