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2025 Nobel Prize in Physics — John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis — and why their work is important:
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What they were awarded for
They were awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.”
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Key Contributions
1. Macroscopic Quantum Tunneling (MQT) in Electric Circuits
They showed that “quantum tunneling” — a phenomenon usually seen with individual particles like electrons or atoms — can happen in larger, engineered systems (electrical circuits) made of superconductors.
In such a system, many particles behave together in a coherent quantum state, allowing the whole circuit to “tunnel” through a barrier (something forbidden under classical physics) as a unified entity.
2. Energy Quantisation in Macroscopic Circuits
They also demonstrated that in a superconducting circuit, energy levels are quantised (i.e., they take on discrete values) — another signature behavior of quantum systems. This was previously hardly seen at a scale large enough to touch, but their work proved it is possible.
3. Bridging the Microscopic and Macroscopic Worlds
Their experiments answered a fundamental question: How large can a system be and still show purely quantum mechanical effects? By pushing quantum behaviour into macroscopic circuits (which you could almost hold), they blurred the boundary between quantum (microscopic, strange behaviors) and classical (everyday physics) realms.
This work underlies many practical quantum technologies, making the transition from theory to devices more feasible.
4. Enabling Superconducting Qubits and Quantum Technologies
The circuits used in their experiments (with Josephson junctions etc.) form the basis for many superconducting qubits — the building blocks of many current quantum computers.
Their findings have implications for quantum sensors, quantum computing, possibly quantum cryptography, and ultra-sensitive measurements.
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Why It’s Important
Fundamental Physics: Their work deepens our understanding of quantum mechanics, especially around what “scale” quantum effects can persist. It challenges where the boundary between quantum and classical behaviour lies.
Practical Applications: The possibility to build circuits that show quantum effects opens up technological advances in computing, sensing, communication. Superconducting circuits are among the leading platforms for quantum computation.
Technological Readiness: Because these experiments were done decades ago and have shaped today’s quantum engineering efforts, their influence is already visible — in efforts like Google's quantum chip, etc.