2004 Nobel prize for Physics

[Avinash]

David Gross, David Politzer and Frank Wilczek won the 2004 Nobel physics prize on Tuesday for explaining how quarks interact to make a coin spin or build the entire universe.

 

The American scientists "have brought physics one step closer to fulfilling a grand dream, to formulate a unified theory comprising gravity as well -- a theory for everything," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' citation said.

 

Their work on the "strong force" acting between quarks inside the proton and the neutron within an atomic nucleus helps explain an everyday phenomenon like a coin spinning on a table.

 

The coin's movements are in fact determined by the fundamental forces between the basic building blocks -- protons, neutrons, and electrons.

 

Their research has built a model of how the universe was born, how it works and how it will ultimately die.