Nobel Prize Centennial Chronicle: Pursuing the Laws of Nature

Author: Li Xinzhou
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-07-01
Features: The Centennial of the Nobel Prize is an original popular science book compiled to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize. It consists of 29 volumes and 2.7 million words, written by 40 experts and professors from renowned domestic universities and research institutions, including Academician Hong Tao of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. It presents a panoramic portrayal of the century-long journey of the Nobel Science Prizes within the broader context of scientific development in the 20th century, focusing on highlighting the essence of the Nobel Prize—the spirit of technological innovation. In addition to three volumes of reviews that comprehensively review the monumental changes in modern physics, chemistry, and life sciences over the past century, the book categorizes all Nobel Science Prize-winning projects from the past century into 26 fields based on their intrinsic connections and developmental trajectories, with each field assigned its own volume. Each volume follows the continuity of scientific development in that field as its main thread, with relevant Nobel Prize-winning projects as the focal point. It not only introduces the related scientific knowledge, methods, and ideas in a popular manner but also emphasizes promoting the spirit of seeking truth and innovation. The entire book is concise, accessible, and imbued with humanistic charm, combining both documentary value and collectible value.
The 20th century was the most accomplished era in the history of physics, marked by rapid advancements based on classical physics, achieving numerous brilliant results that profoundly impacted human society. Before the 20th century, physicists' understanding of the structure of matter was still largely conceptual. In 1897, at the turn of the century, humanity discovered the first fundamental particle—the electron. Only then did physicists truly begin the process of exploring the microscopic world of matter. In 1900, Planck proposed the quantum hypothesis, giving birth to quantum theory. Subsequently, Einstein explained the photoelectric effect using the theory of light quanta. In 1913, Bohr proposed the atomic spectrum theory, establishing the modern atomic model. During the 1920s, matrix mechanics, Schr?dinger's equation, the Pauli exclusion principle, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, and the Dirac electron equation were successively introduced, laying the foundation for quantum mechanics. This was a genuine revolution in the history of 20th-century physics. Almost simultaneously with the quantum revolution, Einstein launched another revolution in 20th-century physics. In 1905, he proposed the theory of special relativity, overthrowing the long-standing Newtonian concept of absolute space and time from physics. In 1915, he further proposed the theory of general relativity, establishing a scientific theory of gravity. Together with quantum theory, relativity became one of the two cornerstones of 20th-century physics.
By the 1940s, quantum electrodynamics emerged, providing an extremely profound explanation of electromagnetism using relativity and quantum theory. In the 1950s, the phenomenon of parity violation in weak interactions was discovered. In the 1960s, the quark model was successfully established. From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, the electroweak unification theory and quantum chromodynamics were successively proposed, formally establishing the Standard Model. The Standard Model represents a significant turning point in humanity's understanding of the microscopic world and can be considered another revolution in 20th-century physics. However, the Standard Model does not mean that humanity's exploration of nature has come to a halt. On one hand, unifying gravity with electromagnetism, weak, and strong forces into a complete grand unification theory has always been a dream that physicists cannot let go of. On the other hand, experimental and observational data have raised many new questions. Since the 1980s, the vigorous development of string theory may also bring a revolution of great impact on physics.
The above is the journey of revolutionary changes in physics described in The Revolutions of 20th-Century Physics. This book is part of the Centennial of the Nobel Prize series published by Shanghai Science and Technology Education Press. The series categorizes all Nobel Prizes in 20th-century physics, chemistry, and life sciences into 26 fields based on the specific winning content, with each field written as a small book of about 80,000 words. The content of each book follows the developmental trajectory of the field, with a focus on relevant Nobel Prize-winning projects. As a result, readers not only gain insight into the scientific content of these Nobel Prize achievements but also understand the developmental history of the field.