2025 Nobel Prize in Physics Celebrates Breakthroughs in Macroscopic Quantum Phenomena

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis for their pioneering discoveries in macroscopic quantum phenomena within superconducting circuits. Their groundbreaking experiments provided direct evidence of quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantization in large-scale electric circuits phenomena previously thought restricted to microscopic particles.

By fabricating superconducting wires and leveraging Josephson junctions, the team managed to observe how collective states known as Cooper pairs could tunnel and exhibit quantized energy levels in electric circuits cooled to near absolute zero. This research confirmed that quantum behavior, such as tunneling and discrete energy states, is not limited to atoms or electrons, but can emerge in electrically engineered systems visible to the naked eye.

The work has had a profound impact on quantum computing, laying the foundation for superconducting qubits used in modern quantum computers. Their discoveries bridge classic Nobel-winning theories in superconductivity with today's cutting-edge quantum technologies. According to IBM Quantum researchers, a significant portion of their team trained or collaborated with these laureates, underscoring the global influence and academic legacy of Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis.

Source and Reference:

“The Experiment That Made Quantum Even Weirder | Nobel Prize 2025,” YouTube video, Qiskit, Oct 09, 2025.

IBM Quantum