Interface: the underlying unificatory theme

An editorial in the latest issue of Nature Materials tells what the 2007 Physics and Chemistry Nobel prizes have in common other than that both are related to investigations into the properties of materials:

… both awards point to the fundamental importance of surfaces and interfaces, and moreover both topics depend on a detailed understanding of the electronic structures of materials.

The piece goes on to discuss the contributions of both Ertl and Fert and Gruenberg. Take a look!

Nobel lectures: Physics and Chemistry

• Albert Fert: The Origin, the Development and the Future of Spintronics
• Peter Gruenberg: From Spinwaves to Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) and Beyond
• Gerhard Ertl: Reactions at Solid Surfaces: From Atoms to Complexity

Have fun!

Giant magnetoresistance wins physics Nobel 2007

Albert Fert and Peter Gruenberg are awarded the Physics Nobel 2007

for the discovery of giant magnetoresistance.

The wiki page has a nice write-up on giant magnetoresistance.

Update: Doug at Nanoscale views has a short write-up on GMR.