The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis for pioneering experiments that revealed quantum mechanical phenomena in macroscopic systems.

Their work demonstrated that quantum effects which are typically confined to the microscopic world, can appear in systems large enough to hold in one’s hand. Using superconducting electronic circuits with Josephson junctions, the laureates showed how electrical currents could tunnel through barriers and display quantised energy levels, confirming the behaviour predicted by quantum theory.

“This discovery beautifully extends quantum mechanics to the visible world,” said Olle Eriksson, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics. The findings lay the groundwork for next-generation quantum technologies, including quantum computers, sensors, and cryptography.