On 7 October 2025, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly to John Clarke, Michel Henri Devoret, and John Matthew Martinis for their discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit in Stockholm, Sweden.
- The laureates demonstrated that quantum mechanics governs macroscopic systems, with Josephson junctions underpinning quantum computers, flash memory, and ultra-precise quantum sensors.
Exam Hints:
- What? Nobel Prize in Physics 2025
- Organiser: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
- Laureates: John Clarke, Michel Henri Devoret, and John Matthew Martinis
- Prize Components: Gold medal, diploma, and 11 million SEK cash (2025)
- Recognition: For their discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.
- 2024 Laureates: John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton
Significance of the Discovery:
Experiments: Conducted in the mid-1980s, using a chip-based Josephson junction built from superconductors.
Observation: Demonstrated quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation, showing that macroscopic systems can exhibit quantum behaviour.
Impact: Laid the foundation for next-generation quantum technologies, including quantum computers, quantum cryptography, and quantum sensors.
Prize Details:
Components: Includes a gold medal, personal diploma, and cash award.
Cash Award: Swedish Kronor (SEK) 11 million, shared among the three laureates.
Winners of Nobel Prize in Physics 2025:
| Nobel Laureate | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| John Clarke | Discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit |
| Michel Henri Devoret | |
| John Matthew Martinis |
About the Laureates:
John Clarke: British physicist and Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of California, Berkeley (California).
Michel H. Devoret: French physicist, F. W. Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics at Yale University, United States of America (USA), Director of the Applied Physics Nanofabrication Lab at Yale, and currently Chief Scientist at Google Quantum Artificial Intelligence (AI).
John M. Martinis: American physicist and Professor of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara (California).
About Nobel Prize in Physics:
Medal Design: The Nobel Prize medal was designed by Swedish sculptor and engraver Erik Lindberg.
Medal Imagery: It features the Goddess of Nature, Isis, rising from clouds and holding a cornucopia, while the Genius of Science lifts the veil that covers her face.
Medal Inscription: The medal bears the Latin phrase “Inventas vitam iuvat excoluisse per artes”, which translates to “Advancing human life through the arts of discovery is beneficial.”
About the Prize: Administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm using Alfred Nobel’s fortune, have been awarded since 1901 in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology/Medicine, Literature, and Peace, with the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences added in 1968.
About Nobel Prize in Physics (1901–2025):
Total Awards: From 1901 to 2025, 119 Nobel Prizes in Physics were awarded to 230 laureates.
Distribution of Prizes:
- Single Laureate: 47 prizes
- Two Laureates: 33 prizes
- Three Laureates: 39 prizes
Multiple Laureates: John Bardeen is the only individual to have won the prize twice—in 1956 and 1972.
Female Laureates: Only five women have received the prize: Marie Curie (1903), Maria Goeppert Mayer (1963), Donna Strickland (2018), Andrea Ghez (2020), and Anne L’Huillier (2023).
Youngest Laureate: Lawrence Bragg was 25 years old when he received the prize in 1915.
Years Not Awarded: The prize was not awarded in 1916, 1931, 1934, 1940, 1941, and 1942.
Oldest Laureate: Arthur Ashkin was 96 years old when awarded in 2018.
Posthumous Awards: Since 1974, the Nobel Foundation’s statutes stipulate that a prize cannot be awarded posthumously unless the laureate has died after the announcement.
2024 Nobel Prize in Physics: American physicist John J. Hopfield and British-Canadian computer scientist Geoffrey E. Hinton were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2024.
Indian Nobel Laureates in Physics:
Chandrasekhara Venkata C. V. Raman: Born in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, became the first Asian and non-white scientist to win a Nobel Prize in 1930 for his discovery of the Raman Effect while conducting research at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata.
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar: Born in Lahore and educated in Chennai and Cambridge, was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for his work on stellar structure and evolution, including the Chandrasekhar Limit, which revolutionized our understanding of white dwarf stars.
