Photos of (LtoR) British physicist John Clarke on the University of California, USA, French physicist Michel H Devoret (University of California and Yale) and US physicist John M Martinis (University of California) are seen on a display throughout a press convention on the awarding of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics on the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 7, 2025.
Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images
U.S.-based scientists John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for “experiments that revealed quantum physics in action”, paving the way in which for the event of the following era of digital applied sciences.
“My feelings are that I’m completely stunned. Of course it had never occurred to me in any way that this might be the basis of a Nobel Prize,” Clarke informed the Nobel press convention by phone on Tuesday.
“I’m speaking on my cell phone and I suspect that you are too, and one of the underlying reasons that the cell phone works is because of all this work.”
‘New surprises’
Quantum mechanical behaviours are effectively studied on the stage of the extremely small – atoms and sub-atomic particles – however are sometimes seen as weird and unintuitive in contrast with classical physics and its far bigger scale.
The Nobel winners carried out experiments within the mid-Eighties with an digital circuit constructed of superconductors and demonstrated that quantum mechanics may additionally affect on a regular basis objects beneath sure circumstances.
“It is wonderful to be able to celebrate the way that century-old quantum mechanics continually offers new surprises. It is also enormously useful, as quantum mechanics is the foundation of all digital technology,” Olle Eriksson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, mentioned.
Quantum know-how is already ubiquitous, with transistors in laptop microchips an on a regular basis instance.
“This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has provided opportunities for developing the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the prize, mentioned in an announcement.
Two of profitable trio have hyperlinks to Google
British-born Clarke is a professor on the University of California, Berkeley, within the United States.
Devoret, born in France, is a professor at Yale University and the University of California, Santa Barbara, additionally within the United States, the place Martinis can also be a professor.
Journalists hear as Goeran Johansson (C-R), Member of the Nobel Committe for Physics, addresses a press convention on the awarding of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics to John Clarke (UK), Michel H Devoret (France) and John M Martinis (US) on the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 7, 2025.
Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images
Martinis, an American, headed Google’s Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab till 2020. At Google, Martinis was half of the analysis workforce who in 2019 mentioned they’d achieved “quantum supremacy”, during which a pc harnessing the properties of sub-atomic particles did a much better job of fixing an issue than the world’s strongest supercomputer.
Devoret, in addition to his professorship, can also be the chief scientist of Google Quantum AI.
Physics second Nobel prize awarded this week
The Nobel physics prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and features a prize sum totalling 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million) that’s shared among the many winners if there are a number of, as is commonly the case.
The Nobel Prizes have been established by the desire of Alfred Nobel, who amassed a fortune from his invention of dynamite. Since 1901, with occasional interruptions, the prizes have yearly recognised achievements in science, literature, and peace. Economics was a later addition.
Physics was the primary class talked about in Nobel’s will, possible reflecting the prominence of the sphere throughout his time. Today, the Nobel Prize in Physics stays broadly considered probably the most prestigious award within the self-discipline.
Past winners of the Nobel physics prize embody some of probably the most influential figures within the historical past of science, similar to Albert Einstein, Pierre and Marie Curie, Max Planck and Niels Bohr, himself a pioneer of quantum idea.
Last yr’s prize was received by U.S. scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton for breakthroughs in machine studying that spurred the unreal intelligence growth, a improvement about which each have additionally expressed issues.
In protecting with custom, physics is the second Nobel to be awarded this week, after two American and one Japanese scientist received the medication prize for breakthroughs in understanding the immune system. The chemistry prize is due subsequent, on Wednesday.
The science, literature and economics prizes are introduced to the laureates by the Swedish king at a ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s demise, adopted by a lavish banquet at metropolis corridor.
The peace prize, which can be introduced on Friday, is awarded in a separate ceremony in Oslo.