The Nobel Prize in Physics 2009
nobelprize.org
nobelprize.org
I found it fascinating and shows the development from first concept through research phases to practical/commercial use.
Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ, USA </quote>
For a moment there I didn't see that this one was for work on CCD; And was surprised thinking Bell labs is still producing Nobel quality stuff;
Engineering breakthroughs tend to take a bit longer to be recognized because determining whether they are significant takes much longer. There is a necessary grace period to see whether the breakthrough actually has impact.
They seem to be trying to clear the backlog. This year's prize is shared by two basically unrelated ideas, which must be a strategy to catch up.
1)better alternative model: generally it would not be that hard to guesstimate the possibility of a significant improvement in the very near future. And even if someone comes along and proposes a better alternative next year, I don't think there is anything to feel humiliated about, as long as the original work that was recognized by the award is really Nobel material.
2) Disproving the original model/theory: Do you know of any theory/model in physics that was considered proven to be correct, and later disproved? improvements, enhancements, yes but disproved?
Wikipedia actually has a great collection of superseded scientific theories: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superseded_scientific_theories