Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded. For the discovery of quantum dots

It’s Nobel week. , and on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Nobel Committee announced the winners in the field of chemistry. On Thursday we will learn the name of the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, and on Friday the peace winner. Next week, on Monday, we will know the winner or winners of the so-called economics Nobel Prize.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded

For the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots, Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei Ekimov were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2023. Quantum dots are a discovery in the field of nanotechnology. They are so small that for many years it was thought that they might not exist at all. Quantum dots were first observed by this year’s winners Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov. Quantum dots are used in TV screens and LED maps. They are also used in medicine, neurosurgeons use them when removing cancerous tissue.

This year’s Nobel Chemistry winners were announced a few hours before the results were announced, when a press release was accidentally sent to the press. The Nobel Committee claimed that it was a mistake and a formal decision had not been made yet.

The awards, founded by the Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, are awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for making the most important discovery or developing an invention in this field. The winners receive medals with the image of Alfred Nobel, calligraphed diplomas and cash prizes. This year, their value is not 10 million, as before, but 11 million crowns, i.e. almost PLN 4.5 million, in each of the six areas.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded over 100 times. A Polish woman among the awarded

The Nobel Prize in the field has been awarded since 1901. The first laureate was the Dutchman Jacobus Henricus van ‘t Hoff. He was awarded for discovering the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions. The Chemistry Nobel Prize has been awarded 114 times so far. It was received by 191 winners. However, it was 189 people, as two people were honored twice.

Among Polish men and women, only Maria Skłodowska-Curie was the winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In 1911, she received an award for discovering polonium and radium, isolating pure radium and working on the chemical properties of radioactive elements. It was the second Nobel Prize for a Pole. Earlier, in 1903, the scientist was honored in the field of physics, together with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel, for research on the phenomenon of radioactivity discovered by Becquerel.

In addition to chemistry, the Nobel Prize is also awarded for contributions to peace, in the field of literature and for outstanding scientific achievements – in physiology or medicine, physics and economics. The names of the winners are traditionally announced in October, and the awards ceremony takes place on December 10, on the anniversary of the founder’s death.