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Martin Lewis Perl

American scientist (1927-2014) · United States · Scientists · Died at 87

Martin Lewis Perl is read about 34 times a day, in 73 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 16 September 2026

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He found a particle no one was looking for. Martin Lewis Perl discovered the tau lepton - a heavy cousin of the electron that rewrote the family tree of matter - and collected a Nobel in 1995 for seeing what the standard models hadn't predicted.

ScientistsScientistPhysicsUnited StatesAmericas20th Century

A life in dates

2014Died30 September 20141995“It is always a good plan for a speculative experimenter to have two experiments going, or at least one going and one being built.”In their wordsNobel Lecture, Martin L. Perl, The Nobel Prize in Physics 1995

Nobel Prize in PhysicsAward1982Wolf Prize in PhysicsAward1927Born24 June 1927

Also in Deutsch

Photos 1

Martin Perl - tauMartin Perl - tau

In their own words 9

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Martin Lewis Perl
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9 statements, newest first

  1. It is always a good plan for a speculative experimenter to have two experiments going, or at least one going and one being built.

    1995, Nobel Lecture, Martin L. Perl, The Nobel Prize in Physics 1995, Own words

  2. The experimenter dealing with nature faces an outside and often hard world. Natures' curriculum cannot be changed.

    in his Nobel Autobiography, edited by, Own words

  3. Experimental science is a craft and an art, and part of the art is knowing when to end a fruitless experiment.

    Nobel prize lecture, Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Nobel Prize in Physics1995
Wolf Prize in Physics1982
Guggenheim Fellowship

About this person

Martin Lewis Perl was born June 24, 1927, and trained first as a chemical engineer before crossing into physics. His experimental work led to the discovery of the tau lepton, a finding that expanded the known structure of subatomic particles and earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1995. He died September 30, 2014, decades after the detection that secured his place in particle physics.

Country
United States
Category
Scientists
Type
Scientist
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1927 to 2014 · aged 87

In common with Martin

Raymond Davis Jr.Both received Wolf Prize in PhysicsFerenc KrauszBoth received Wolf Prize in PhysicsFrançois EnglertBoth received Wolf Prize in PhysicsKenneth G. WilsonBoth received Wolf Prize in PhysicsAnton ZeilingerBoth received Wolf Prize in PhysicsPierre-Gilles de GennesBoth received Wolf Prize in Physics

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