Why were these men the only ones to be rewarded, why were the prizes divided so awkwardly, and why was the official rationale for the awards so odd? More generally, the 1933 decisions point to the broader question that peppers both popular and scholarly histories of modern physics: why were so few Nobel prizes awarded for theoretical contributions? Was this the result of Alfred NobelвЂ™s testament, which specifies that the prize is awarded for вЂњdiscovery or invention in the field of physicsвЂќ? Is it inherently more difficult to define a theoretical breakthrough as a discovery? The prizes for quantum mechanics have long been the subject of speculation and gossip. Meanwhile, the 1933 prize was shared by Erwin SchrГ¶dinger and Paul Dirac for вЂњthe discovery of new productive forms of atomic theoryвЂќ. The prize reserved from 1932 went to Werner Heisenberg alone for вЂњthe creation of quantum mechanics, the application of which has, inter alia, led to the discovery of allotropic forms of hydrogenвЂќ. When the Academy eventually announced its decision in November, the results pleased some, angered others and puzzled many. Would the Academy finally acknowledge these accomplishments? No prize had been awarded in physics since 1930, yet recent theoretical and experimental achievements had led to a revolutionary new quantum-mechanical depiction of the atom. Their bewilderment and chagrin over the most recent decisions by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences had fuelled anticipation. In 1933 the Nobel prizes seemed of little importance compared with the global economic depression and the rise to power of the Nazis, but many physicists still kept a watchful eye on Stockholm.

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