Antony Hewish

Interview

Interview, June 2009

Interview with the 1974 Nobel Laureate in Physics Antony Hewish in Cambridge, United Kingdom, June 2009. The interviewer is Adam Smith, Editor-in-Chief of Nobelprize.org.

Antony Hewish discusses his precocious childhood and importance of fostering children’s innate curiosity, his war service work at the Telecommunications Research Establishment with Martin Ryle (7:50), returning to Cambridge and working for Ryle’s radio physics group (14:24), and his early research on the structure of the ionosphere (19:39). He also describes setting up a huge phased-array antenna for a major sky survey (23:17), how that apparatus led to the identification of pulsars (39:38), and why it was thought at one point that pulsars might be proof of extraterrestrials (41:54). He concludes by explaining his subsequent research at the Cavendish Laboratory (59:14) and the satisfaction he derived from teaching (01:09:14).

To cite this section
MLA style: Antony Hewish – Interview. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Fri. 29 Mar 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1974/hewish/interview/>

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

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Eleven laureates were awarded a Nobel Prize in 2023, for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. Their work and discoveries range from effective mRNA vaccines and attosecond physics to fighting against the oppression of women.

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.