The Nobel Prize in Physics 1964

Charles Hard Townes

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/2

Nicolay Gennadiyevich Basov

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/4

Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/4

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1964 was divided, one half awarded to Charles Hard Townes, the other half jointly to Nicolay Gennadiyevich Basov and Aleksandr Mikhailovich Prokhorov "for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle."

To cite this section
MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Physics 1964. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2021. Mon. 6 Dec 2021. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1964/summary/>

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

Streams during Nobel Week

Coming up

Watch the 2021 Nobel Prize lectures, the Nobel Prize Concert, Nobel Week Dialogue, the prize award ceremonies in Oslo and Stockholm and Nobel Peace Prize Forum here at nobelprize.org.
Watch lectures and award ceremonies

Explore prizes and laureates

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