Mesoscopic physics deals with systems that are much smaller than the objects we experience with our senses (macroscopic objects), but significantly larger than individual atoms.
The judging committee of the Wolf Prize in Physics for the year 2016 unanimously decided to award the prize to Prof. Yosef Amri from the Weizmann Institute, Israel, for his pioneering research in the physics of mesoscopic and random systems.
Professor Yosef Ameri is the main founding father of mesoscopic physics, the field of study of systems that are much smaller than the objects we experience with our senses (macroscopic objects), but significantly larger than individual atoms. Amri created, developed and led basic concepts in this field of research which forms the scientific basis for today's nanoscience and nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is not just a technological achievement - it brings to light important quantum effects. On the macroscopic scale, quantum effects are manifested only in special materials, such as superconductors and superfluids. Emery predicted that it would be possible to see such effects on a mesoscopic scale even in ordinary materials. For example, in macroscopic scales the electrical resistance of a standard current conductor changes continuously, depending on its dimensions. On the other hand, on small scales the electrical resistance can only have values that are integral multiples of e^2/h, where e is the electron charge and h is Planck's constant.
In addition, inside small rings made of a normal conductor, a spontaneous electric current can flow, one that does not fade and does not need an energy source such as a battery. This current is characterized not only by its amplitude, but also by a phase that reflects its quantum nature. In macroscopic scales such a current exists only in superconductors. The said phase causes fluctuations in the electrical conductivity depending on the magnetic flux measured in units of e/h (Aharonov-Bohm effect). Furthermore, both the amplitude and the phase of the current are subject to quantum fluctuations. These predictions of Emery regarding non-fading currents and other quantum effects in mesoscopic systems were initially met with skepticism, but were later confirmed in many experiments. The measured currents were found to be much stronger than expected, which was a puzzle for researchers for two decades. Emery solved this problem by taking superconductivity fluctuations into account.
Professor Emery also provided pioneering insights into the physics of phase transitions in finite and low-dimensional systems, discoveries that are hallmarks of today's mesoscopic physics. His theory of phase transitions in random fields, which was developed jointly with KS Ma, is a fundamental contribution affecting the entire field of statistical mechanics. Analyzes and predictions he made on the subject of the transition between a metal and an insulator, as a function of their size, were confirmed experimentally and had a profound impact on research in solid state physics. It is also worth noting that the analysis he conducted on the topic of Bose condensation in solid helium-4 preceded by three decades the tremendous boom that is taking place today in the field of supersolid research.
Professor Yosef Amri is a physicist born with impressive foresight, sometimes years ahead of his time, whose research is at the cutting edge of a number of fields in physics. For these contributions he is awarded the Wolf Prize in Physics for 2016.
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In my humble opinion, after reviewing an amateur's work through the RESEARCH GATE, he was indeed chosen correctly. It was important for the awardees to remain state-owned. This is the highest scientific award that Israel gives. Opening an enabling field in physics - worthy. Apart from that, the physics of phase transitions is not mathematically and theoretically difficult. It is appropriate in my humble opinion, very very even, since what he discovered was proven, and there was theoretical innovation here. It's a shame that life is too short to look deeply into areas that are not my area of expertise.
Aini hints at something about Yosef Imri. I am not familiar with his work to judge his weight. At the national level he is a canon. And at the world level he is famous. The question is whether he appears in the Nobel Prize committees.
The Wolf Prize has a fine history as a predictor of Nobel Prizes. It is necessary to maintain a balance with professors from abroad of the first rank. For example, in the past, Sarnak from D.R.P. was given a great mathematician, perhaps a winner of the Fields Medal. to Daniel Barenboim, ignoring the political differences of opinion. It is important that the prize really chooses those who appear on the committees of the Nobel Prizes and the Fields Medal and not stick to any political ideologies. Otherwise it's another prize.