The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics to three pioneering American scientists whose remarkable work demonstrated that quantum mechanical phenomena can occur in circuits visible to the naked eye, fundamentally bridging the mysterious quantum realm with our everyday macroscopic world.
John Clarke of the University of California, Berkeley, Michel Devoret of Yale University, and John Martinis of the University of California, Santa Barbara, will share the prestigious prize for their experimental demonstrations of quantum tunneling and energy quantization in macroscopic electrodynamic circuits.
A Quantum Leap for Large-Scale Systems
The laureates’ work represents a profound achievement in physics: proving that quantum effects—traditionally associated with individual atoms and subatomic particles—can manifest in circuits large enough to see and manipulate with conventional laboratory equipment. This discovery has established that quantum behavior is not merely a microscopic curiosity but can be engineered into macroscopic devices, opening unprecedented pathways for quantum technologies.
“This is a triumph that fundamentally changes our understanding of where quantum mechanics ends and classical physics begins,” said Professor Thors Hans Hansson, member of the Nobel Committee for Physics. “These scientists have shown us that the boundary is far more flexible than we ever imagined.”
Quantum Phenomena at Human Scale
The core achievement lies in demonstrating two key quantum phenomena in large superconducting circuits: quantum tunneling, where particles pass through energy barriers they classically shouldn’t be able to cross, and energy quantization, where energy exists only in discrete packets rather than continuous values.
The experiments utilized Josephson junctions—devices where two superconductors are separated by a thin insulating barrier—integrated into specially designed circuits. When cooled to temperatures near absolute zero, these circuits exhibited unmistakably quantum behavior despite containing billions of electrons moving in concert, a scale previously thought to suppress quantum effects through environmental interference.
From Theory to Technology
The implications extend far beyond fundamental physics. The laureates’ work has directly enabled the development of superconducting quantum computers, which use quantum bits (qubits) based on these macroscopic quantum circuits to perform calculations impossible for classical computers, and ultra-sensitive magnetic sensors known as SQUIDs (Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices) used in medical imaging and geological surveying.
“What began as a quest to understand fundamental quantum mechanics has blossomed into an entire technology ecosystem,” noted Dr. Eva Olsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics. “Today’s quantum computers and sensors are direct descendants of these pioneering experiments.”
Three Decades of Innovation
The path to this Nobel Prize spans more than thirty years of experimental ingenuity. Clarke’s early work in the 1980s establishing the SQUID device and Josephson junction measurement techniques provided the experimental foundation, while Devoret’s innovations in circuit quantum electrodynamics in the 1990s and 2000s advanced the theoretical framework and practical implementations. Martinis then connected these discoveries to scalable quantum computing architectures, culminating in Google’s 2019 demonstration of quantum supremacy—a calculation beyond the reach of classical supercomputers.
A New Quantum Era
The recognition comes at a pivotal moment in quantum technology development. Major technology companies, governments, and research institutions worldwide are investing billions in quantum computing, communication, and sensing systems—all built on the principles established by this year’s laureates.
Beyond computing, the laureates’ discoveries are revolutionizing medical diagnostics through quantum sensors that detect minute magnetic fields from the brain and heart, enhancing materials science through precise measurement of quantum properties, and potentially transforming cryptography through quantum communication networks.
The Prize
The three laureates will share the prize sum of 11 million Swedish kronor (approximately $1 million). The award ceremony is scheduled for December 10 in Stockholm, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
In a joint statement, the laureates expressed gratitude: “This recognition belongs not just to us, but to the countless students, postdocs, and collaborators who have advanced quantum science from laboratory curiosity to technological reality. We are witnessing the dawn of a true quantum age.”
Looking Forward
As quantum technologies transition from research laboratories to commercial applications, the foundational science recognized by this Nobel Prize continues to inspire new generations of physicists and engineers. The next challenges include scaling quantum computers to millions of qubits, extending quantum sensor sensitivity, and developing quantum networks for secure global communications—all resting on the macroscopic quantum foundations laid by Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis.
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics thus honors not merely past achievement, but ongoing revolution—one where the strange rules of the quantum world are finally being harnessed to reshape our technological civilization.
–Rashmi Kumari
