Physics Prizes We Can Recognize

In 2008, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for work related to broken symmetry in subatomic physics.  In 2007, it was for giant magnetoresistance, in 2006, blackbody form and anisotropy of cosmic microwave background radiation, and so on back to the first, in 1901, for what were then called Roentgen rays.  But today is the dawn of a new era.

This morning, the Nobel Committee announced that the 2009 Prize in Physics would be shared by Charles Kao, for work on fiber-optic transmission, and Willard Boyle and George Smith, for work on the solid-state imager (specifically the CCD).  Wow!  These are things with which readers of this post should be familiar.

Today, the Nobel committee recognized the work behind fiber transmission and chip-based cameras.  Can the laugh track be far behind?