Universe speeding up discovery wins Nobel Physics

The expansion of the universe is speeding up. That discovery won the Nobel Prize for Physics for three astronomers -- whose observations of exploding stars have stirred the world of cosmology. Co-winner Adam Riess - a professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says he was shocked at receiving the award. SOUNDBITE: Adam Riess, Nobel Prize for Physics co-winner "The phone rang and it was Swedish sounding people and I knew it wasn't IKEA calling and they told me it was was from the Nobel Prize committee and congratulated me for winning." Riess - is one one of three Americans to win the prize. He, along with astronomers Saul Perlmutter and Brian Schmidt, studied dozens of exploding stars. They concluded the universe - emerging from the Big Bang - may fly so far apart - that cooling as it goes - it will end in ice. Now living in Australia, Schmidt said the experiments were started in 1994. SOUNDBITE: Brian Schmidt, Nobel Prize for Physics co-winner "We traced how fast the universe was expanding now and we compared it to how fast the universe was expanding five or even eight billion years ago, and what we found was the universe was not slowing down because of gravity, it was speeding up." Perlmutter, a professor at the University of California at Berkley, said the winners had been part of two rival teams - who in the end - all contributed to the discovery. Schmidt and Reiss will share half of the 10 million Swedish crowns - or 1.5 million dollars prize money - and Perlmutter will receive the rest. Sarah Irwin

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Science & Technology

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