The Greatest Discoveries that Never Received The Nobel Prize

I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work – a life's work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before.

William Faulkner’s speech at the Nobel Banquet

It has been more than 100 years since the first Nobel Prize distribution ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden. Since then, this award has never failed to encourage people to work hard in their fields. It is not just an award. It is a symbol that shows that our whole Nation is proud of the work of Nobel Laureates.

The history behind Nobel Prize

The first Nobel Prize ceremony took place in 1901 on the fifth death anniversary of a Swedish inventor of dynamite, Alfred Bernhard Nobel. There is no proof, but people believe that Nobel regretted using his inventions lethally in war. Therefore, he decided to put all his fortunes in a fund whose interest will be distributed in the form of prizes to those who have conferred the most significant benefit on humankind.

Till today the Nobel Prizes are presented annually. Each Nobel Prize acceptor gets a cash prize of $1,400,000 and a gold medal as a part of the tradition.

Disoveries that deserved the Nobel Prize

Here are eight discoveries that should have received Nobel Prize but could not make it.

1. Tesla Coil, Remote Control, Wireless Telegraphy

Tesla coil, remote control, wireless telegraphy are all inventions of a Serbian - American inventor, Nikola Tesla.
A tesla coil is a two-stage transformer with high voltage, high frequency, and power generator, primarily built for observing phenomena associated with alternating electricity.

Tesla demonstrated it as a method or an apparatus for controlling the mechanism of moving vessels or vehicles about the remote control.
All these Tesla's discoveries became one of the turning points in science, but he never received a Nobel. 

2. Bose – Einstein Condensate

Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter formed by cooling a gas extremely low density, about one hundred-thousandth the density of normal air, to super temperatures. 

Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein first suggested it, but it remains unrecognized for seventy years. 

3. Expansion of Universe

One of the best astronomers of the 20th century, Edwin Hubble, discovered that the universe was not static, but it expands. Even though he made a remarkable discovery, he never received Nobel Prize because astronomy was not the field of the Nobel Prize in that era.

4. Big Bang Theory

Georges Lemaitre is one of the most outstanding scientists using Einstein's theory of relativity as a guide; he proposed that space is constantly expanding and the distance between the two galaxies increases.

Unfortunately, his very worthy paper could not win Nobel Prizes because astronomy was not a physics part at that time.

5. Theory of Relativity

If you are into science, you cannot miss 'The theory of relativity by Albert Einstein. He spent almost his whole life working and proving it. He received Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921, but it was for his 'Law of the Photoelectric Effect' and not for the Theory of Relativity that got him upset. 
If you want to know more about Albert Einstein, then watch the series Genius Season 1 premiered on National Geographic.

6. Rotating Neutron Stars

The death of stars forms neutron stars. It is a compact star that can result from a massive star's gravitational collapse after a supernova.
Jocelyn Bell Burnell, a 24 – year – old graduate student, discovered the first pulsar, a type of neutron star. This discovery was recognized later and awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, but unfortunately, Jocelyn was not one of the recipients. 

7. Black Hole Evaporation

Stephen Hawking was one of the living legends in the field of cosmology. His studies on black holes revolutionized the way people used to study the universe. 
Hawking's radiation theory proves that black holes are not entirely black, and they emit radiations that cause them to disappear. Stephen never received the Nobel because his most significant discovery was also one of the most extraordinary controversial theories.

8. Light Bulb

Lightbulb - the very symbol of scientific inspiration invented by Thomas Edison never received Nobel Prize. It was considered a historical injustice.

Conclusion

There have been many significant discoveries in science that failed to receive recognition or were recognized too late. Many more worthy inventions or discoveries are apart from the some mentioned above, which are still not known by people.

It is our human nature that we only see and know about famous things and not things that are worth knowing, even if they are infamous. 

Author

Shivangi Singh
Dr. D. Y. Patil Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Institute
Pune, India