Nobel Prize in Physics 2025
Kartavya Desk Staff
Source: IE
Context: The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John Martinis for their pioneering discovery of macroscopic quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation in electric circuits.
About Nobel Prize in Physics 2025:
• What It Is?
• The Nobel Prize in Physics, instituted in 1901, honours groundbreaking contributions in the field of physical sciences that advance human understanding of the universe. Awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, it carries global prestige and a monetary prize of 11 million SEK (approx. ₹8.5 crore).
• The Nobel Prize in Physics, instituted in 1901, honours groundbreaking contributions in the field of physical sciences that advance human understanding of the universe.
• Awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, it carries global prestige and a monetary prize of 11 million SEK (approx. ₹8.5 crore).
• Winners:
• John Clarke – Professor at University of California, Berkeley (USA). Michel H. Devoret – Professor at Yale University (USA). John Martinis – Researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara (USA).
• John Clarke – Professor at University of California, Berkeley (USA).
• Michel H. Devoret – Professor at Yale University (USA).
• John Martinis – Researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara (USA).
About Quantum Tunnelling:
What It Is?
• Quantum tunnelling means tiny particles (like electrons) can pass through barriers that, in normal physics, they shouldn’t be able to cross.
• Imagine rolling a ball up a hill — in classical physics, if it doesn’t have enough energy, it rolls back. But in the quantum world, the ball can magically appear on the other side.
• This happens because particles act like waves, and a small part of that wave can “leak” through the barrier and continue on the other side.
How It Works?
• When an electron hits a wall of energy, some part of its wave passes through — it’s as if the particle “sneaks” through the wall.
• In superconductors, two paired electrons (called Cooper pairs) can move through an insulating layer — creating an electric current even though the barrier should block it.
• The Nobel-winning scientists Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis showed that not just single particles, but entire electrical circuits can do this — they can jump between different energy levels as if tunnelling through invisible walls.
Key Features:
• Not normal physics: It breaks everyday rules — you never see a football pass through a wall, but at the atomic level, it happens!
• Fixed energy steps: The system can only have specific energy values, not anything in between — like a staircase, not a ramp.
• Easily disturbed: Even tiny vibrations or heat can stop the tunnelling effect, so it needs very controlled conditions (like ultra-cold temperatures).
• Big scale discovery: For the first time, scientists saw this strange quantum trick happening in large circuits made of billions of atoms, not just in single particles.