Briton John Clarke, French physicist Michel Devoret, and American scientist John Martinis were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 for their pioneering work that demonstrated quantum physics in action on a macroscopic scale. The Nobel Committee recognised their discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit, marking a significant moment in understanding how quantum mechanics operates beyond the microscopic world.
Quantum mechanics, the science governing the smallest building blocks of nature, often defies classical logic. In traditional physics, a ball hitting a wall would bounce back, but in quantum mechanics, a particle can pass directly through a barrier — a phenomenon known as “tunnelling.” The trio’s experiments in the 1980s showed that this effect can also be observed in systems large enough to be held in hand, using superconducting circuits to reveal how multiple particles can behave collectively under quantum rules. According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, these findings offered a tangible way to study quantum phenomena and inspired new directions for quantum research.
The Academy noted that the experiments conducted by Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis helped pave the way for modern quantum technologies, including quantum cryptography, quantum sensors, and quantum computing. Their work bridged the gap between theoretical physics and real-world applications by demonstrating that quantum effects could manifest in systems far larger than individual atoms. “It is wonderful to celebrate how century-old quantum mechanics continues to reveal new insights and remains central to digital technology,” said Olle Eriksson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics.
Speaking after the announcement, 83-year-old John Clarke, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, expressed surprise at receiving the award. “It never occurred to me in any way that this might be the basis of a Nobel Prize,” he said, adding that their focus was purely on exploring the physics behind their experiments without anticipating the technological advances that would follow. Clarke and his colleagues, including Michel Devoret, now at the University of California, Santa Barbara and professor emeritus at Yale University, and John Martinis, also at UC Santa Barbara, were acknowledged for research that continues to influence the evolution of next-generation computing and secure communication systems.
This year’s physics prize follows the Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded earlier in the week to researchers Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell from the United States and Japan’s Shimon Sakaguchi for their discoveries related to immune system regulation. The Nobel announcements continue throughout the week, with chemistry, literature, peace, and economics awards yet to be revealed. Each Nobel laureate will receive a diploma, a gold medal, and a share of the $1.2 million prize at the official ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
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