French, German physicists get Nobel for nanotechnology

==quote==

French, German Scientists Win Nobel Physics Prize

By VOA News

09 October 2007

The 2007 Nobel Prize for Physics has been awarded to two scientists from France and Germany for their work in nanotechnology.

France's Albert Fert and Germany's Peter Gruenberg were recognized for discovering a technique (giant magnetoresistance) that allows computer users to store large amounts of data quickly and easily on hard disks.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences made the announcement Tuesday in Stockholm. It says the discovery can be considered "one of the first real applications of the promising field of nanotechnology".

==endquote==

This link has a very nice popularization

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2007/info.pdf

It explains how Giant Magnetoresistance works (GMR) and how it leads to smaller more efficient hard-drives.

Here are some more links:

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2007/index.html

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2007/sci.html