Why are Nobel Prize recipients getting older?

The winners of the Nobel Prize in physics, medicine and chemistry in 2016 are all men, the youngest 65 and the oldest 72 years old.

Back in the 50s of the twentieth century, the average age of receiving the Nobel Prize was only 56 . At that time the Nobel Prize-winning physicists were usually in their 47s while today is 60.

In fact, in all areas, an irreversible trend is an increasing number of recipients. This trend started in the 1950s and continues today.

Is it in this age of information and science booms that finding a breakthrough is too difficult? The answer is not so.

3 scientists won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2016.

Gustav Kallstrand, senior manager of the Nobel museum, said that only 100 years ago there were only about 1,000 global physicists. Today, this number is 1 million.

"This is an extremely important factor. The waiting time for the Nobel Prize will be longer and you will not receive the award immediately after finding a breakthrough , " Gustav explained.

Although many scientists find a new finding when life is very young, there are thousands of other people who do the same. The committee awarding the Nobel Prize must be rigorously appraised and need years to decide to reward the most worthy person.

Today people are writers, economists and dedicated to peace a few thousand more than a century ago. The aging trend with the Nobel prize is a different thing. The other question is why are the recipients of physical prizes much older in the remaining fields.

The United States remains the world leader in the number of Nobel laureates.

All recent physics awards stem from the scientific revolution of the 20th century when the quantum industry was born. Gustav said physics in the first 50 years of the 20th century progressed very quickly. Many physicists are young and they find many things very easily.

Werner Heisenberg and Paul Dirac were only 31 years old when they received the Nobel Prize in physics in the 1930s. They both studied quantum physics. At that time, quantum physics opened a new door and discovered new things very simply. A scientist once said: "Even ordinary physicists have great discoveries."

Gustav said that only the Nobel Peace Prize is not in this trend."The Nobel Peace Prize Council tries to keep up with the trend of the times. They don't want a Nobel Peace Prize to be announced when the event revolves around the end."

Although the Nobel Prize in science and humanities has a change in age structure, there is a very little change: scientists who receive awards are mostly men. Many female scientists were also nominated, but the differences a few decades ago remain.

Marie Curie was the first female scientist to receive the prize in 1903.

Men still appear prominently in science subjects. Gustav recounted the fact that when the female scientist was overlooked in her work, it was Marie Curie.

In 1903, when Marie Curie was not nominated for a Nobel Prize, her husband and other researchers objected and did not accept the award. Finally, the Nobel Prize committee must approve and award the Nobel Prize to her. Marie Curie was the first woman to win this prestigious award.