Award in physics goes to 3 Brits for topology work

British-born scientists David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz were awarded this year's Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for studies on exotic matter that could result in improved materials for electronics or quantum computers.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited the three for "theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter."

Topology is the study of properties of objects that aren't changed when the objects are distorted. A doughnut and a coffee cup are equivalent topologically because they each have exactly one hole.