Breaking News: The Nobel Physics Prize has been awarded to three researchers, John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis, for quantum mechanics research they are conducting to construct a new generation of extremely powerful computers. The news was announced at a news conference in Stockholm, Sweden, by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The Nobel committee stated that there is no modern technology utilised today that isn’t based on quantum mechanics, such as mobile phones, cameras, and fibre optic cables.
Cambridge-born professor John Clarke, currently based at the University of California in Berkeley, described being awarded the prize as the shock of his life. Michel H. Devoret was born in Paris, France and is a Yale University professor, while John M. Martinis is a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The three recipients will receive prize money of 11 million Swedish kronor, equivalent to around £872,000.
Scientists Recognised for 1980s Experiments on Electrical Circuits
The Nobel Prize committee acknowledged pioneering work done by the three men in a series of experiments during the 1980s on electric circuits. Describing it in their words, they discovered macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit. Even for a field that is generally described as hard to grasp, this discovery is surprising to most people, but the implications have been far-reaching for technology.
The electronic devices that most of us use every day rely on their discovery, and the findings are being used to build extremely powerful computers called quantum computers. Professor Clarke said on the phone during the news conference, a few minutes after being informed that he won, that this is what paves the way for the development of the quantum computer, and a lot of people are doing quantum computing with their findings being in a number of ways the foundation of this. He was surprised that the work he did forty years ago was worthy of the most prestigious science prize, reporting that he was utterly shocked and they had no idea at the time whatsoever that it could be the foundation for a Nobel prize.
Quantum Tunnelling Breakthrough Now Employed in Today’s Computer Chips
Quantum mechanics is concerned with the way small things behave in a small world and what particles, such as the electron, do in the world beneath atoms. Professor Clarke and his colleagues considered how such particles seemed to break rules such as crossing energy barriers that normal physics stated were impossible, referred to as tunnelling. By using quantum tunnelling, the electron succeeds in tunnelling through the energy barrier that should have halted it.
Their research proved that it is possible to replicate tunnelling not just in the quantum realm but also in electrical circuits in the tangible world around us. This discovery has been applied by researchers in the development of contemporary quantum chips that drive the latest computers today. Professor Lesley Cohen, Associate Provost in the Department of Physics at Imperial College London, described this as fantastic news indeed and well-deserved, commenting that their work set the ground for superconducting Qubits, which is one of the primary hardware technologies for quantum technologies.
About the Winners
John Clarke was born in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and is now a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He spent multiple years studying quantum effects that can be used in real technology. His work has helped scientists understand how electrical circuits can show quantum behaviour as well.
Michel H. Devoret was born in Paris, France, and teaches at Yale University in the United States. His research is based on how electric circuits behave when quantum effects are involved. He has played a big role in shaping how scientists build and design quantum devices.
John M. Martinis is a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has done deep experimental research on how quantum tunnelling happens in electric circuits. His results have been used by multiple scientists around the world to improve quantum processors.
FAQs
- Who received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics?
John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis received it for quantum computer research.
- What did the Nobel Prize laureates find out?
They found out quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in electric circuits in the 1980s experiments.
- How valuable is the Nobel Prize in Physics?
The three laureates will share 11 million Swedish kronor, or about £872,000.
- What is quantum tunnelling?
Quantum tunnelling is where particles move through energy barriers that traditional physics declared impenetrable.
- How does the research benefit quantum computers?
Their discovery set the stage for superconducting Qubits employed in current quantum computing hardware.
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