Thouless, Haldane and Kosterlitz win 2016 Nobel physics prize

British-born scientist F. Duncan Haldane of Princeton University speaks at a press conference after winning the 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics, in Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Dominick Reuter

STOCKHOLM/LONDON (Reuters) - Three British-born scientists won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for revealing unusual states of matter, leading to advances in electronics that could aid researchers trying to develop quantum computers.

David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz, who all work at U.S. universities, share the prize for their discoveries on abrupt changes in the properties, or phases, of ultra-thin materials.