The Nobel Prize in Physics 1981

Nicolaas Bloembergen

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/4

Arthur Leonard Schawlow

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/4

Kai M. Siegbahn

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/2

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1981 was divided, one half jointly to Nicolaas Bloembergen and Arthur Leonard Schawlow "for their contribution to the development of laser spectroscopy" and the other half to Kai M. Siegbahn "for his contribution to the development of high-resolution electron spectroscopy"

To cite this section
MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Physics 1981. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Sat. 3 Dec 2022. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1981/summary/>

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

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Nobel Prizes 2022

Fourteen laureates were awarded a Nobel Prize in 2022, for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.

Their work and discoveries range from paleogenomics and click chemistry to documenting war crimes.

See them all presented here.
Nobel Prizes 2022

Explore prizes and laureates

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