STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) --Americans John C. Mather and George
F. Smoot won the 2006 Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for work that helped
cement the big-bang theory of the universe and deepen understanding of the
origin of galaxies and stars.
Mather, 60, works at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md., and Smoot, 61, works at the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif.
The scientists discovered the nature of "blackbody
radiation,'' cosmic background radiation believed to stem from the "big
bang,'' when the universe was born.
"They have not proven the big-bang theory but they give
it very strong support,'' said Per Carlson, chairman of the Nobel committee for
physics.
"It is one of the greatest discoveries of the century.
I would call it the greatest. It increases our knowledge of our place in the
universe.''
Their work was based on measurements done with the help of
NASA's COBE satellite launched in 1989. They were able to observe the universe
in its early stages about 380,000 years after it was born. Ripples in the light
they detected also helped demonstrate how galaxies came together over time.
"The COBE results provided increased support for the
big-bang scenario for the origin of the Universe, as this is the only scenario
that predicts the kind of cosmic microwave background radiation measured by
COBE,'' the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm said in its
citation.
The big-bang theory states that the universe was born
billions of years ago from a rapidly expanding dense and incredibly hot state.
Reached at his home in Berkeley, Smoot told The Associated
Press he was surprised when he got the call from the Nobel committee in the
middle of the night.
"I was surprised that they even knew my number. After
the discovery I got so many calls I unlisted it,'' he said.
"The discovery was sort of fabulous. It was an
incredible milestone. Now this is a great honor and recognition. It's
amazing,'' he said.
Mather said he was "thrilled and amazed'' at receiving
the prize.
"I can't say I was completely surprised, because people
have said we should be awarded, but this is just such a rare and special
honor,'' Mather said in a telephone interview with the Nobel committee.
He said he and Smoot did not realize how important their
work was at the time of their discovery.
The COBE project gave strong support for the big-bang theory
because it is the only scenario that predicts the kind of cosmic microwave
radiation measured by the satellite.
The academy called Mather the driving force behind the COBE
project while Smoot was responsible for measuring small variations in the
temperature of the radiation.
With their findings, the scientists transformed the study of
the early universe from a largely theoretical pursuit into a new era of direct
observation and measurement.
"The very detailed observations that the laureates have
carried out from the COBE satellite have played a major role in the development
of modern cosmology into a precise science,'' the academy said.
Phillip F. Schewe, a spokesman for the American Institute of
Physics, said he had expected the two to win the honor.
"It's just a really really difficult experimental
measurement to make. "It's the farthest out we can see in the universe and
it's the farthest back in time,'' he said in a telephone interview.
Since 1986, Americans have either won or shared the physics
prize with people from other countries 15 times.
Last year, Americans John L. Hall and Roy J. Glauber and
German Theodor W. Haensch won the prize for work that could improve
long-distance communication and navigation.
This year's award announcements began Monday with the Nobel
Prize in medicine going to Americans Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello for
discovering a powerful way to turn off the effect of specific genes, offering
new hope for fighting diseases as diverse as cancer and AIDS.
The winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry will be named
Wednesday. The Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred
Nobel will be announced Oct. 9.
The winner of the peace prize --the only one not awarded
in Sweden --will be announced Oct. 13 in Oslo, Norway.
A date for the literature prize has not yet been set.
Alfred Nobel, the wealthy Swedish industrialist and inventor
of dynamite who endowed the prizes, left only vague guidelines for the
selection committee.
In his will, he said the prize should be given to those who
"shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind'' and "shall
have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of
physics.''
The prizes, which include a $1.4 million check, a gold medal
and a diploma, are presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in
1896.
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