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Re:Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded for Machine Learning and N... by littlestymaar on Tuesday October 08, 2024 @10:24AM (#41777720)
> Arguably, the photoelectric effect fits that notion better than GR or any other of Einstein's research

Today we could argue about it due to the importance of solar panels, but that was hard to forecast in 1921. Also, without GR there would be no GPS so it's not like it doesn't bring benefits to humanity.

Re:Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded for Machine Learning and N... by topaz0 on Tuesday October 08, 2024 @11:32AM (#41778483)
More to the point, photoemission spectroscopy has been a workhorse tool for understanding the electronic properties of materials for quite a long time now (though perhaps not yet in 1921).
Re:Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded for Machine Learning and N... by mr_mitm on Tuesday October 08, 2024 @01:02PM (#41779428)
Einstein laid the foundation of quantum mechanics with his description of the photoelectric effect, so you could add transistors, lasers, LEDs, CCD sensors and more to the list. Although I agree that it's doubtful that most of this could have been foreseen then.
Re:Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded for Machine Learning and N... by zellyn on Tuesday October 08, 2024 @02:07PM (#41780087)
Surely they would have just noticed a discrepancy in timing and added a few circles-upon-circles to effectively fix it up? Is deeply grokking relativity necessary for GPS to work?

On the other hand, it would be impossible to make those adjustments without someone coming up with GR :-)