3 scientists split 2017 Nobel Prize in physics for observing gravitational waves

3 physicists win Nobel for gravitational waves
(Image credit: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images)

On Tuesday morning, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in physics to three U.S.-based physicists, half to Rainer Weiss, 85, and the other half split between Barry C. Barish, 81, and Kip S. Thorne, 77, all of whom collaborated in the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) collective. The citation credits the three men with "decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves," realizing a prediction Albert Einstein made 100 years ago.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.