[Weizsäcker, Bethe and the Nobel Prize].

Abstract

For his work on nuclear physics Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in physics. Bethe had worked on the energy production in stars at about the same time as Weizsäcker but independently from him. The Nobel Committee valued the structural depth of BETHE'S work more than Weizsäcker's temporal priority because Bethe had described the nuclear reactions quantitatively and had shown a much deeper understanding of the nuclear processes in the centre of stars whereas Weizsäcker had worked more qualitatively. There are no reasons to believe that political resentments towards Weizsäcker played any significant role in awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1967 only to Bethe. The lives and works of Weizsäcker and Bethe show some remarkable parallels, ranging from calculating the binding energy in nuclei to the energy production in sun-like and massive stars to peace- and disarmament initiatives.