Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prizes

The second week of October is for many a thrilling and important week, since this is the week when the names of the laureates of the five Nobel Prizes are announced. For physics Tuesday is when it is revealed to whom and for what the prize is given. For the Nobel Prize in Physics the prize awarding institution is the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The main working body, responsible for most of the work involved in selecting Nobel Prize laureates, is, however, the Nobel Committee for Physics. In this talk I shall describe how the Committee works, from the start of the preparatory work in the month of September, describe the main steps of the work that ends with the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in the Stockholm Concert Hall on December 10 the year after. I shall start my talk by giving a brief biographical picture of the man Alfred Nobel and how he created the immense fortune where, according to his will, the major part of his money be used to create a series of prizes for those who confer the "greatest benefit on mankind" in physics, chemistry, peace, physiology or medicine, and literature. Pre-colloquium for students at 15:30