The Nobel Prize

Wise words from poet and essayist Wisława Szymborska. In 1996, she was awarded the #NobelPrize in Literature "for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality."

Can you guess the laureate? Let me give you three clues: - He designed the X-ray spectrometer (pictured), a vital tool used by scientists to study crystal structures. - The laureate was awarded the #NobelPrize with his son in 1915. - He had a lifelong interest in gardening. Any guesses? Write in the comment section.

Today we celebrate 102 years since the birth of the "Mozart of poetry": Wisława Szymborska. The Polish poet wrote around 400 poems during her lifetime, using common everyday images to reflect on larger truths about love, death and passing time. Read her Nobel Prize lecture: http://bit.ly/2t3UF08

How much do you know about the wonder drug penicillin that revolutionised medicine? Alexander Fleming was a Scottish bacteriologist who early on in his career became interested in the natural bacterial action of blood and antiseptics. In the autumn of 1928, while working on the influenza virus, he cultured bacteria on plates and left them in his lab. On his return, he found that mould had developed accidentally on a staphylococcus culture plate and that the mould had created a bacteria-free circle around itself. This inspired him to perform further experiments, and he found that a mould culture prevented growth of staphylococci, even when diluted 800 times. He named the active substance penicillin. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dABFxZkk

#Didyouknow that the radioactive silvery metal 'Curium' was discovered by chemistry laureate Glenn Seaborg? Seaborg produced and identified the metal in July 1944. The metal tarnishes rapidly in air and is named after Marie and Pierre Curie. Curium is mainly used in scientific research, but it has also been used to provide power to electrical equipment on space missions. Seaborg himself also has a chemical element named after him, called Seaborgium. Read more about our laureates' contributions to the periodic table: https://bit.ly/2Y3PU7e

On 1 July 1913, William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg published their article 'The reflection of X-rays by crystals.' Their work was critical in developing the field of crystallography which today underpins many technological developments in our modern society, such as drug development, nano- and biotechnology. Read the full article: https://bit.ly/2YXAhLD

On 9 October 1980, when Czesław Miłosz got a call from a Swedish journalist telling him that he had been awarded the literature prize he was working as a lecturer at UC Berkeley. Most of the poet's work was not translated into English and his writings had been banned in Poland since the 1950s. According to Miłosz he responded to the call by saying, “It can’t be true,” and then hanging up. Learn more about Milosz: https://bit.ly/2SJRSsH

The Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm explores the work and ideas of nearly 1000 Nobel Prize laureates. Museum educator Isak shows you his favourite artefact and how it relates to medicine laureate Barbara McClintock. Learn more about McClintock: https://bit.ly/2wkb2XH

Luis Alvarez received the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on elementary particle physics. However he is probably more famous for another piece of work. In 1980, Alvarez, together with his son Walter, published the theory that the dinosaurs became extinct after an asteroid collided with Earth 65 million years ago. The collision created not only massive earthquakes and tsunamis, but it also created a cloud of dust that blocked much of the sun’s light for several years. While this was bad news for the dinosaurs, it opened up niches for mammals to fill, furthering their evolution. Learn more about Luis Alvarez: https://bit.ly/2XJuX1y #AsteroidDay

26-year-old Albert Einstein formulated the two postulates of special relativity on 30 June 1905. The postulates of special relativity: 1. The principle of relativity The laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames of reference. 2. The constancy of speed of light in vacuum The speed of light in vacuum has the same value c in all inertial frames of reference. The speed of light in vacuum c (299792458 m/s) is so enormous that we do not notice a delay between the transmission and reception of electromagnetic waves under normal circumstances. The speed of light in vacuum is actually the only speed that is absolute and the same for all observers as was stated in the second postulate. Photo: Einstein in 1904 or 1905, Wikimedia Commons.