A physicist had to sell his Nobel Prize at $ 765,000 to pay medical bills

Winning a Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious honors an academician can hope for. You may think that the life of a Nobel laureate is glamorous and glamorous; However, this is not always the case. The legendary physicist Leon Lederman, who died last Wednesday at the age of 96, had to sell his Nobel Prize to pay his medical bills.

Lederman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1988 for his groundbreaking research in the field. However, the physicist should have sold his honorable Nobel medal in 2015 in exchange for $ 765,000 to pay his medical bills up.

The physicist, who was a professor at the University of Chicago, was suffering from memory loss since 2011. He eventually died in a retirement home in Idaho.

Lederman's story shows us the state of health care in America. Professor Lederman was born in the 1920s. His father was an ordinary man who worked in a laundromat. Later in his life, Lederman excelled in physics and discovered the subatomic particle of the Higgs boson, known as the "particle of God."

According to Michael Turner, a professor at the University of Chicago, his contributions to the field of physics are extraordinary. He helped the experts to understand the fundamental forces and particles of nature. In addition to being a great scientist of that time, Lederman was also a leader ahead of his time in terms of science education, he added.

However, even this spirit of genius did not know how to survive the ever-increasing cost of health care in America. Health care prices in the United States are generally quite high compared to the rest of the world. For example, one day, in an average American hospital, would cost about $ 5,000, while the cost would be $ 765 in Australia or $ 424 in Spain. In contrast, a private room in a retirement home costs more than $ 7,000 per month on average. Add to that, medical insurance does not really cover long-term care.

The world-renowned physicist also suffered the same fate: he had to sell his Nobel Prize medal, which is essentially to sell the hard work of a lifetime.

Professor Lederman not only discovered the subatomic particle of the Higgs boson, but he also wrote a book titled The particle of god. Lederman also led the Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory from 1978 to 1989.

"Leon Lederman has provided the scientific vision that has allowed Fermilab to stay at the forefront of technology for more than 40 years," said current lab director Nigel Lockyer in a statement.

According to Michael Turner, a professor at the University of Chicago, his contributions to the field of physics are extraordinary. He helped the experts to understand the fundamental forces and particles of nature. In addition to being a great scientist of that time, Lederman was also a leader ahead of his time in terms of science education, he added.