Science Fact Finder | General Science and Technology - What Were The Discoveries Of John Bardeen, The Only Person To Win Two Nobel Prizes In The Same Field?

What were the discoveries of John Bardeen, the only person to win two Nobel Prizes in the same field?

In 1956, John Bardeen (1908-) won the Nobel Prize for physics for his research into electrical concepts, namely semiconductors (material such as silicon that amplifies and controls electrical currents) and the discovery of the transistor effect. His second prize, awarded in 1972, was for his part in the development of the BCS theory of superconductivity. This theory was named for its three inventors, Bardeen, Leon Cooper (1930-), and John Robert Schrieffer (1931-), all of whom shared the Nobel Prize. The BCS theory accounts for the tendency of certain materials to lose all electrical resistance when they are cooled to temperatures near absolute zero. Absolute zero is the lowest temperature at which matter can exist—equal to -273° Celsius or -459° Fahrenheit.

Sources: McMurray, Emily...

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