2007 Nobel Prize in Physics
Posted on October 10, 2007 Comments (2)
In 1988 the Frenchman Albert Fert and the German Peter Grünberg each independently discovered a totally new physical effect – Giant Magnetoresistance or GMR. Very weak magnetic changes give rise to major differences in electrical resistance in a GMR system. A system of this kind is the perfect tool for reading data from hard disks when information registered magnetically has to be converted to electric current. Soon researchers and engineers began work to enable use of the effect in read-out heads. In 1997 the first read-out head based on the GMR effect was launched and this soon became the standard technology. Even the most recent read-out techniques of today are further developments of GMR.
Related: 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics – Webcasts by Chemistry and Physics Nobel Laureates
2 Responses to “2007 Nobel Prize in Physics”
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August 6th, 2008 @ 12:38 pm
Read a very nice biography from Center for History of Physics of the American Institute of Physics for Werner Heisenberg, the founder of quantum mechanics, and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle…
October 8th, 2009 @ 8:10 am
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