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George Smoot

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For the American pioneer in semiconductors, seeGeorge Smoot Horsley.
George Smoot
Smoot at 2009 POVO conference in The Netherlands
Born
George Fitzgerald Smoot III

(1945-02-20)February 20, 1945(age 79)
Yukon, Florida,U.S.
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Known forCosmic microwave background radiation
AwardsNASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement(1992)
Kilby Award(1993)
AmericanAcademy of AchievementGolden Plate Award(1994)[1]
E. O. Lawrence Award(1994)
Albert Einstein Medal(2003)
Nobel Prize in Physics(2006)
Gruber Prize(2006)
Daniel Chalonge Medal(2006)
Oersted Medal(2009)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
InstitutionsUC Berkeley/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory/Paris Diderot University/Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
ThesisCharge exchange of positive Kaon on platinum at three GeV/C(1971)
Doctoral advisorDavid H. Frisch[2]
Part of a series on
Physical cosmology
Full-sky image derived from nine years' WMAP data
Early universe
Backgrounds
Expansion·Future
Components·Structure
Components
Structure
Experiments
Scientists
Subject history

George Fitzgerald Smoot III(born February 20, 1945) is an Americanastrophysicist,cosmologist,Nobellaureate, and the second contestant to win the $1 million prize onAre You Smarter than a 5th Grader?.He won theNobel Prize in Physicsin 2006 for his work on theCosmic Background ExplorerwithJohn C. Matherthat led to the "discovery of theblack bodyform andanisotropyof thecosmic microwave background radiation".

This work helped further theBig Bangtheory of the universe using theCosmic Background Explorer(COBE) satellite.[3]According to the Nobel Prize committee, "the COBE project can also be regarded as the starting point forcosmologyas a precision science. "[4]Smoot donated his share of the Nobel Prize money, less travel costs, to a charitable foundation.[5]

Smoot has been at theUniversity of California, Berkeleyand theLawrence Berkeley National Laboratorysince 1970. He is Chair of the Endowment Fund "Physics of the Universe" of Paris Center for Cosmological Physics. Apart from being elected a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Smoot has been honored by several universities worldwide with doctorates or professorships. He was also the recipient of Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2006), Daniel Chalonge Medal from the International School of Astrophysics (2006), Einstein Medal from Albert Einstein Society (2003), Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award from the US Department of Energy (1995), and the Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal from NASA (1991). He is a member of the Advisory Board of the journalUniverse.

Smoot is one of the 20 American recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics to sign a letter addressed to PresidentGeorge W. Bushin May 2008, urging him to "reverse the damage done to basic science research in the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill" by requesting additional emergency funding for theDepartment of Energy'sOffice of Science,theNational Science Foundation,and theNational Institute of Standards and Technology.[6]

Early life[edit]

Smoot was born inYukon, Florida.His maternal grandfather wasJohnson Tal Crawford.He graduated fromUpper Arlington High SchoolinUpper Arlington, Ohio,in 1962.[7]He studiedmathematicsbefore switching tophysicsat theMassachusetts Institute of Technology,where he obtained dualbachelor's degreesin mathematics and physics in 1966 and aPh.D.inparticle physicsin 1970.[8][9]A distant relative,Oliver R. Smoot,was the MIT student who was used as the unit of measure known as thesmoot.[10][11]

Initial research[edit]

George Smoot switched to cosmology and began work at Berkeley, collaborating withLuis Walter Alvarezon the High Altitude Particle Physics Experiment, astratosphericweather balloondesigned to detectantimatterin Earth's upper atmosphere, the presence of which was predicted by the now discreditedsteady state theoryof cosmology.

He then took up an interest incosmic microwave background radiation(CMB), previously discovered byArno Allan PenziasandRobert Woodrow Wilsonin 1964. There were, at that time, several open questions about this topic, relating directly to fundamental questions about the structure of theuniverse.Certain models predicted the universe as a whole was rotating, which would have an effect on the CMB: itstemperaturewould depend on the direction of observation. With the help of Alvarez andRichard A. Muller,Smoot developed a differentialradiometerwhich measured the difference in temperature of the CMB between two directions 60 degrees apart. The instrument, which was mounted on aLockheed U-2plane, made it possible to determine that the overall rotation of the universe was zero, which was within the limits of accuracy of the instrument. It did, however, detect a variation in the temperature of the CMB of a different sort. That the CMB appears to be at a higher temperature on one side of the sky than on the opposite side, referred to as a dipole pattern, has been explained as aDoppler effectof the Earth's motion relative to the area of CMB emission, which is called thelast scattering surface.Such a Doppler effect arises because theSun,and in fact theMilky Wayas a whole, is not stationary, but rather is moving at nearly 600 km/s with respect to the last scattering surface. This is probably due to thegravitational attractionbetween our galaxy and a concentration of mass like theGreat Attractor.

COBE[edit]

Map of the CMB fluctuations found by COBE.

At that time, the CMB appeared to be perfectly uniform excluding the distortion caused by the Doppler effect as mentioned above. This result contradicted observations of the universe, with various structures such asgalaxiesandgalaxy clustersindicating that the universe was relativelyheterogeneouson a small scale. However, these structures formed slowly. Thus, if the universe is heterogeneous today, it would have been heterogeneous at the time of the emission of the CMB as well, and observable today through weak variations in the temperature of the CMB. It was the detection of these anisotropies that Smoot was working on in the late 1970s. He then proposed toNASAa project involving asatelliteequipped with a detector that was similar to the one mounted on the U-2 but was more sensitive and not influenced byair pollution.The proposal was accepted and incorporated as one of the instruments of the satelliteCOBE,which cost $160 million. COBE was launched on November 18, 1989, after a delay owing to the destruction of theSpace Shuttle Challenger.After more than two years of observation and analysis, the COBE research team announced on 23 April 1992 that the satellite had detected tiny fluctuations in the CMB, a breakthrough in the study of the early universe.[12]The observations were "evidence for the birth of the universe" and led Smoot to say regarding the importance of his discovery that "if you're religious, it's like looking at God."[13][14]

Smoot celebrating his Nobel Prize atLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,3 October 2006

The success ofCOBEwas the outcome of extensive teamwork involving more than 1,000 researchers, engineers and other participants. John Mather coordinated the entire process and also had primary responsibility for the experiment that revealed the blackbody form of the CMB measured by COBE. Smoot had the main responsibility of measuring the small variations in the temperature of the radiation.[15]

Smoot collaborated withSan Francisco Chroniclejournalist Keay Davidson to write the general-audience bookWrinkles in Time,that chronicled his team's efforts.[16]In the bookThe Very First Light,John Mather and John Boslough complement and broaden the COBE story,[17]and suggest that Smoot violated team policy by leaking news of COBE's discoveries to the press before NASA's formal announcement, a leak that, to Mather, smacked of self-promotion and betrayal. Smoot eventually apologized for not following the agreed publicity plan and Mather said tensions eventually eased. Mather acknowledged that Smoot had "brought COBE worldwide publicity" the project might not normally have received.[18]

Other projects[edit]

After COBE, Smoot took part in another experiment involving a stratospheric balloon,Millimeter Anisotropy eXperiment IMaging Array,which had improved angular resolution compared to COBE, and refined the measurements of the anisotropies of the CMB. Smoot has continued CMB observations and analysis and was a collaborator on the third generation CMB anisotropy observatoryPlanck satellite.He is also a collaborator of the design of theSupernova/Acceleration Probe,a satellite which is proposed to measure the properties ofdark energy.[19]He has also assisted in analyzing data from theSpitzer Space Telescopein connection with measuringfar infrared background radiation.[20]Smoot also was a leader in a group that launched theMikhailo LomonosovApril 28, 2016.[citation needed]

Smoot is credited byMickey Hartfor inspiring the albumMysterium Tremendum,which is based, in part on "sounds" that can be extracted from the background signature of the Big Bang.[21]

As of September 2019,Smoot is anartificial intelligencescientist for theGTA Foundation,whose business is storing genomic sequencing data and using it in scientific applications.[22]

In November 2020, he joinedDead Sea Premieras head of research for their NUNA advanced technology anti-aging medical device development.[citation needed]

In April 2021, he joined theXiaomieco-system company Viomi as chief scientist for their AI-development.[citation needed]

In January 2023, George Fitzgerald Smoot III joined the National Council for Science and Technology under thePresidentof theRepublic of Kazakhstan.[23]

Media appearances[edit]

Smoot had acameo appearanceas himself in "The Terminator Decoupling"episode ofThe Big Bang Theory.[24]He contacted the show as a fan of their often physics-based plots and was incorporated into an episode featuring him lecturing at a fictional physics symposium.[25]He is also credited by the producer of the show with providing a joke told by Penny in the episode "The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition".[26] In April 2019 he also appeared in the episode The Laureate Accumulation.

On September 18, 2009, Smoot appeared on an episode of theFoxtelevision showAre You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?During filming, he reached the final question, "What U.S. state is home toAcadia National Park?",to which he gave the correct answer"Maine",becoming the second person to win the one-million-dollar prize.[27]

On December 10, 2009, he appeared in aBBCinterview of Nobel laureates, discussing the value science has to offer society.

Smoot gave a 2014TEDxlecture in which he suggested that certain aspects of physics support thesimulation hypothesis,the idea that our reality is a computer-generatedvirtual reality.[28][29]

In 2016, Smoot appeared in a TV commercial forIntuitTurboTax,advising a user of the software on what to do.[30]

Selected publications[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement".achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
  2. ^Katherine Bourzac (12 January 2007)."Nobel Causes".Technology Review.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-01-29.Retrieved2007-09-05.And Smoot himself can still vividly recall playing a practical joke on his graduate thesis advisor, MIT physics professor David Frisch.
  3. ^Horgan, J. (1992)Profile: George F. Smoot – COBE's Cosmic Cartographer,Scientific American267(1), 34–41.
  4. ^"The Nobel Prize in Physics 2006"(Press release). The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 3 October 2006. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2010-08-15.Retrieved2006-10-05.
  5. ^"Berkeley Nobel laureates donate prize money to charity"(PDF).Associated Press.22 March 2007. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 26 July 2011.Retrieved31 March2010.
  6. ^"A Letter from America's Physics Nobel Laureates"(PDF).
  7. ^Jones, Gregory L (18 April 2007)."Nobel Prize winner returns home"(PDF).Upper Arlington News.Retrieved30 November2016.
  8. ^Smoot, George Fitzgerald III (1971).Charge exchange of positive Kaon on platinum at three GeV/C(Ph.D. thesis).Massachusetts Institute of Technology.OCLC25256702– viaProQuest.
  9. ^"Nobelists' work supports big-bang theory"(Press release).MITPress Office. 3 October 2006.Retrieved2006-10-03.
  10. ^"At MIT, future Nobelist not above a prank or two".The Boston Globe.October 4, 2006.Retrieved2022-03-24.
  11. ^"The SMOOT as unit of Length".Aether.lbl.gov.Retrieved2022-03-24.
  12. ^Smoot, G.F.; et al. (September 1992)."Structure in the COBE differential microwave radiometer first-year maps".Astrophysical Journal.396(1): L1–L5.Bibcode:1992ApJ...396L...1S.doi:10.1086/186504.S2CID120701913.
  13. ^"U.S. Scientists Find a 'Holy Grail': Ripples at Edge of the Universe".International Herald Tribune.Associated Press. April 24, 1992. p. 1.
  14. ^Thomas H. Maugh, II (April 24, 1992). "Relics of Big Bang, Seen for First Time".Los Angeles Times.pp. A1, A30.
  15. ^"Pictures of a Newborn Universe"(Press release). Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 3 October 2006.Retrieved2007-09-05.
  16. ^Smoot, George; Davidson, Keay (1993).Wrinkles in Time.New York: W. Morrow.ISBN0-688-12330-9.
  17. ^Mather, John; Boslough, John (1997).The Very First Light: The True Inside Story of the Scientific Journey Back to the Dawn of the Universe.New York:Basic Books.ISBN0-465-01575-1.
  18. ^Lynn Yarris (26 October 2006)."After the Phone Call".Science@Berkeley Lab.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-05-06.Retrieved2007-09-05.
  19. ^"Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP)".Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.Retrieved2007-09-05.
  20. ^"Spitzer Cosmic Far-IR Background Project".Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.Retrieved2007-09-05.
  21. ^"Into the Heart of Music: Recording the Mickey Hart Band's" Mysterium Tremendum "| Grateful Dead".dead.net.16 April 2012.Retrieved2016-01-02.
  22. ^"The Grand Opening of GTA Gene Data Storage and Application Summit Forum Heralds A Promising Future of Gene Technology".Benzinga.27 September 2019.Retrieved10 January2022.
  23. ^"Касым-Жомарт Токаев подписал указ о создании Нацсовета по науке и технологиям при Президенте РК".inform.kz(in Russian). 2023-01-26.
  24. ^"The Terminator Decoupling".The Big Bang Theory.Season 2. Episode 17. 9 March 2009. 20 minutes in. CBS.
  25. ^"The Big Bang Theory Videos".CBS.Retrieved2012-08-04.
  26. ^Lorre, Chuck."Big Bang Theory Season 2 Episode 19 Vanity Card".Retrieved2014-01-17.
  27. ^"Are You Smarter Than 5th Grader? Season 3 Ep. 27".FOX, Mark Burnett Productions. Archived fromthe originalon September 22, 2009.Retrieved2009-09-26.
  28. ^"You are a Simulation & Physics Can Prove It: George Smoot at TEDxSalford".Tedx Talks.11 February 2014.
  29. ^Sean Martin (24 February 2016)."Humans already living in a COMPUTER SIMULATION, leading Nobel Prize astrophysicist warns".Express.co.uk.
  30. ^Staff. (January 4, 2016)"Physics Geniuses Illustrate the Mind-Bending Simplicity of TurboTax in W+K's New Ads; Campaign will include a Super Bowl spot By David Gianatasio"Adweek"

External links[edit]

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