Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

How technology made condensed matter physics boring

Condensed matter is one of the largest and most prolific areas of physics, but it looms small in the public imagination. In this Comment, historian Joseph D. Martin argues that its relationship with technology might be to blame.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Perkowitz, S. Stealth science. The Sciences 36, 40–44 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Martin, J. D. What’s in a name change? Phys. Perspect. 17, 3–32 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Missner, M. Why Einstein became famous in America. Soc. Stud. Sci. 15, 267–291 (1985).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Daniels, M. & Krige, J. Beyond the reach of regulation? Technol. Cult. 59, 226–250 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Godin, B. Models of Innovation: The History of an Idea (MIT Press, 2017).

  6. United States Senate. Proposed Fiscal Year 1990 Budget Request (DOE’s Office of Energy Research): Hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy Research and Development of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Vol. 4 (US Government Printing Office, 1989).

  7. 2 from U.S. among 4 Nobel science winners. The New York Times (12 October 1977).

  8. Door ignores physics prize. Los Angeles Times (21 October, 1972).

  9. Kojevnikov, A. Freedom, collectivism, and quasiparticles: social metaphors in quantum physics. Hist. Stud. Phys. Biol. Sci. 29, 295–331 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joseph D. Martin.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Martin, J.D. How technology made condensed matter physics boring. Nat Rev Phys 6, 402–403 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-024-00732-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-024-00732-1

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing