Get Out the Vote

Today is the last day to vote in Cosmic Variance's Greatest Physics Paper contest. If you haven't voted yet, go over there and pick a paper.

Locally, I'm still collecting nominees for the Greatest Physics Experiment. A quick scan through the comments gives the current list as:


  • The Michelson-Morley experiment disproving the aether.
  • Rutherford's discovery of the nucleus.
  • Aspect's Bell Inequality test.
  • Galileo's inclined planes, or possibly the discovery of the moons of Jupiter.
  • The Mossbauer Effect.

If you have a favorite physics experiment, and don't see it on that list, go leave a comment nominating it. Some time after Clifford wraps up the "Greatest Paper" contest, I'll write descriptions of the nominees, and hold an experimental vote.

More like this

Being a theorist myself, I am terribly rusty (or ignorant) about experiments. But here are some cool experiments that come to mind (no particular order, and apologies if I got things wrong).

Hertz' discovery of electromagnetic waves.

Curie-Becquerel's discovery of radioactivity.

Roentgen's discovery of X-rays.

Hubble's discovery of the galactic redshift.

Anderson's discovery of positrons.

Hahn-Meitner's discovery of nuclear fission.

Penzias-Wilson's discovery of 3K radiation.

Madam Wu's discovery of parity violation.

Reines et al's discovery of the neutrino.

Rubbia et al's discovery of W and Z.

At least I think these experiments can compete with Aspect and Moessbauer.

By Thomas Larsson (not verified) on 18 Jan 2006 #permalink