Philip W. Anderson

Philip W. Anderson was an American theoretical physicist whose work on localization, symmetry breaking, and superconductivity helped shape condensed-matter physics. He received the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Condensed-matter physics: The study of the collective physical properties of matter, especially solids and liquids. Anderson’s research helped establish this field’s modern theoretical framework.
Anderson localization: The suppression of wave transport by disorder, causing states to become spatially localized. Anderson’s 1958 theory showed that disorder alone can halt electron diffusion.
Mott transition: A transition between metallic and insulating behavior driven by electron-electron interactions. Anderson investigated how interactions can localize electrons beyond disorder’s effects.
John Bardeen: An American physicist who co-invented the transistor and developed the BCS theory of superconductivity. Anderson’s work on superconductivity built on and extended the BCS framework.
More is different: Philip Anderson’s argument that complex systems can exhibit principles not reducible to their components. His 1972 essay articulated why condensed-matter phenomena demand their own explanatory theories.
Quantum mechanics: The physical theory describing matter and energy at atomic and subatomic scales. His theories of electrons in solids apply quantum mechanics to many interacting particles.
Anderson theorem: A result that nonmagnetic impurities do not change the critical temperature of a conventional s-wave superconductor. The theorem explains why a common kind of disorder can leave conventional superconductivity intact.
High-temperature superconductivity: Superconductivity occurring at temperatures substantially higher than those of conventional superconductors. Anderson proposed influential, though contested, explanations of cuprate superconductivity.
Brian Josephson: A British physicist who predicted coherent tunneling effects between superconductors. Anderson developed theoretical explanations of Josephson’s predicted effects.
Nobel Prize in Physics: An annual international award recognizing major contributions to physics. Anderson shared the 1977 prize for theories of electronic structure in magnetic and disordered systems.

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