Nobel Prize in Physics 2025: Celebrating Quantum Mechanics
On the centenary of the discovery of quantum mechanics, which describes the universe at its smallest and simplest levels, the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three pioneers who brought the mysterious effects of this theory into the everyday world.
Quantum Mechanics: The Theory That Changed the World
Quantum mechanics is one of the most successful scientific theories in history, playing a pivotal role in most transformative technologies today, from supercomputers to smartphones. This theory reveals counterintuitive truths such as particles transforming into waves, their ability to exist in multiple contradictory states simultaneously, and the perfect correlation of their properties through entanglement, regardless of the distance between them.
This year, three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize for introducing another strange quantum effect known as quantum tunneling to the macroscopic world. These scientists are John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis.
Quantum Tunneling: From Particles to the Macroscopic World
Quantum tunneling occurs when a particle passes through a barrier it cannot surmount, appearing on the other side, similar to throwing a ball at a wall and finding it unscathed on the other side with the wall intact. This effect is fundamental to transistors but usually dissipates when many particles are involved, which is why we don’t see people walking through walls in everyday life.
In a series of experiments conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1984 and 1985, Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis demonstrated that the process could occur on larger scales than previously thought.
Applications of Quantum Tunneling in Modern Technology
The scientists drew inspiration from the theoretical work of physicist Anthony Leggett, using electronic circuits made from superconductors, which can carry current without electrical resistance. These devices contain superconducting components separated by a thin barrier of non-conductive material, known as Josephson junctions.
By extensively mapping and measuring the circuit’s properties, the scientists showed how electrons behave as a single particle, crossing the barrier to fill the entire circuit.
Challenges and Future Prospects in Quantum Computing
One of the biggest challenges in quantum computing is synchronizing enough powerful and reliable qubits to create systems that clearly demonstrate “quantum supremacy” over classical computing. Governments, research institutions, and private companies worldwide spend billions of dollars annually in pursuit of this quantum supremacy.
A significant part of these systems relies on superconducting qubits, which owe their existence in part to the pioneering research of Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis.
Conclusion
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics honors the efforts of scientists in the field of quantum mechanics and underscores the immense importance of this theory in transforming the modern world. Thanks to the innovations introduced by Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis, the effects of quantum mechanics have become an integral part of the technology used in our daily lives, opening new horizons in quantum computing that promise a radical change in data processing and solving complex problems.