Science Fact Finder | General Science and Technology - Who Was The First American To Receive A Nobel Prize?

Who was the first American to receive a Nobel Prize?

Albert Abraham Michelson (1852-1931), a German-born American physicist (a scientist specializing in the interaction between energy and matter), received the 1907 Nobel Prize in physics, becoming the first American to win the award. The prize recognized two of Michelson's accomplishments: his design of extremely sensitive optical (light-gathering) instruments, and the accurate measurements of the speed of light he made using those instruments.

With fellow scientist Edward Morley (1838-1923), Michelson performed the classic Michelson-Morley experiment for light waves to determine, with great precision, the speed of light. This involved reflecting light from a rotating eight-sided mirror to a stationary mirror 22 miles (35 kilometers) away.

In experiments carried out over half a century, Michelson repeatedly refined his attempts to determine...

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