Trio Of Scientists Share Physics Nobel For Quantum Mechanics

Three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries that are helping advance quantum computing and sensors.

John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis will share the 11 million-krona ($1.2 million) award, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm said in a statement Tuesday, "for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantization in an electric circuit".

The three laureates conducted experiments with an electrical circuit in which they demonstrated both quantum mechanical tunneling and quantized energy levels in a system big enough to be held in the hand, the Committee said. That’s provided opportunities for developing the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers and quantum sensors.

“This year’s laureates have thus contributed to both practical benefit in physics laboratories and to providing new information for the theoretical understanding of our physical world,” the Committee said.

Clark, who was born in the UK, is a professor at University of California, Berkeley. Devoret, from France, is a professor at Yale University as well as the University of California, Santa Barbara, where Martinis is also a professor.

Annual prizes for achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace were established in the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite, who died in 1896. A prize in economic sciences was added by Sweden’s central bank in 1968.

Last year’s physics Nobel was awarded to Geoffrey Hinton and John Hopfield for their foundational work in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Included among the most famous physics laureates are Albert Einstein in 1921 for services to theoretical physics and Marie Curie, together with her husband Pierre, for research on radiation in 1903.

The laureates are announced through Oct. 13 in Stockholm, with the exception of the Nobel Peace Prize, whose recipients are selected on Friday by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.