Where were the most physics Nobel prizes earned?
Is there such a place as a Nobel prize factory? By this I mean are there places, universities or other research organisations where discoveries or inventions have consistently led to a Nobel prize? Recent research published in the history of science journal of the Royal Society has measured the success for the Nobel prize in physics since its inception in 1901 through to the most recent award in 2019. The author did find a ranking (which is shown as a table in the publication) which has some surprises. The surprises are due to two aspects of the award. The most obvious is that when the awards are made the recipients have a sparse number of ‘facts’ about them presented: (1) their name, 92) where and when they were born, (3) their affiliation at the time of the award, (4) the prize motivation, and finally (5) their prize share. It is (3) and (5) that provide the most interest according to this paper. The affiliation at the time of award is just that; where were they working when the...