(Image source from: AP)
Scientists John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for “finding macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantization in an electric circuit,” the organization that gives the award announced on Tuesday. “This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has opened doors for the future of quantum technology, which includes quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors,” the awarding organization stated in a message.
All three recipients are located in the United States. The Nobel Prize in Physics is given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and comes with a total prize amount of 11 million Swedish crowns, which is approximately 1.2 million dollars, shared among the winners when there are multiple victors, which often happens. The Nobel Prizes were set up based on the wishes of Alfred Nobel, who became wealthy from his invention of dynamite. Starting in 1901 and with some interruptions, the prizes have each year honored significant accomplishments in science, literature, and peace. Economics was added later.
BREAKING NEWS
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2025
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2025 #NobelPrize in Physics to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.” pic.twitter.com/XkDUKWbHpz
Physics was the first category mentioned in Nobel's will, probably because the field was very important during his lifetime. Today, the Nobel Prize in Physics is still seen as the most esteemed award in this area. Previous recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics include some of the most significant names in science history, like Albert Einstein, Pierre and Marie Curie, Max Planck, and Niels Bohr, who was an early figure in quantum theory. Last year, the award was given to American scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton for their advances in machine learning that led to a boom in artificial intelligence, a topic they both have shown concern about. True to tradition, the physics prize is the second Nobel to be given this week after two American scientists and one from Japan received the medicine prize for advances in understanding the immune system. The chemistry prize will be awarded next, on Wednesday.
The rewards for science, literature, and economics are given to the winners by the Swedish king at a ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the date of Alfred Nobel's death, followed by a grand banquet at the city hall. The peace prize, which will be revealed on Friday, is given in a different ceremony held in Oslo.
