The importance of order

 

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2003

       
 

Ginzburg
Vitaly L. Ginzburg
 P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow, Russia
 

Together with his colleague Lev Landau, Vitaly Ginzburg developed a phenomenological theory of superconductivity in the late 1940s. This theory proposes that those electrons that contribute to superconduction form a superfluid. The superconductor is described by a complex function called the order parameter, and indicates the fraction of electrons that has condensed into a superfluid.

Order parameter
 

The Ginzburg-Landau order parameter
is the solution of an equation similar to
the quantum-mechanical wave equation.

 

Contents:
| Introduction | Swirling superfluids | Two types of superconductors & It takes two
| The importance of order | Vortices give guidance | A fluid with directions | Theories put to work | Timeline | Further reading | Credits |
  Web Adapted Version of the Nobel Poster from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

To cite this section
MLA style: The importance of order. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Wed. 6 Nov 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2003/9499-the-importance-of-order/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Nobel Prizes 2024

Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.

See them all presented here.

Illustration

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.