Nobel Prize in Physics awarded for macroscopic quantum circuits

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Tuesday awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis for experiments that showed quantum mechanical phenomena can appear in macroscopic electric circuits. The trio were honored for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit, a finding the academy said opens new possibilities for quantum technologies.

The award recognizes experiments and theoretical work demonstrating that effects once thought confined to individual particles can manifest at scales large enough to be engineered in circuits. Their research established that superconducting circuits can exhibit discrete energy levels and allow quantum tunnelling between states, enabling controlled quantum behavior in devices that are relatively large by quantum standards. Those properties form the basis of many approaches to quantum computing and advanced quantum sensors.

All three laureates are based in the United States. John Clarke carried out work at the University of California, Berkeley; John M. Martinis is affiliated with the University of California, Santa Barbara; and...