Nobel Prize in Physics 1956

William Bradford Shockley

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/3

John Bardeen

Prize share: 1/3

Walter Houser Brattain

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/3

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1956 was awarded jointly to William Bradford Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain "for their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect"

To cite this section
MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Physics 1956. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach 2025. Sat. 19 Apr 2025. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1956/summary/>

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.