the physics behind the MP3, is officially a Nobel idea

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2007

In 1988 France's Albert Fert and German Peter Grünberg discovered a phenomenon called giant magnetoresistance.  This is how information stored magnetically on a hard disk can be converted to electrical signals that the computer reads.  This allowed miniaturizstion of hard drives in devices like MP3 players.

 

This week the two men each shared the Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance"

 

source [nobelprize.org]