Overview

• French physicist Michel Devoret, British physicist John Clarke and American physicist John Martinis share the award for quantum-mechanics work that advances the hardware basis for future quantum computers.
• The citation highlights the discovery of macroscopic quantum tunneling and the quantization of energy in an electrical circuit, demonstrated through landmark experiments dating to the 1980s.
• Their results showed that quantum behavior can be realized in circuitry at a scale large enough to handle, opening paths toward quantum computing, cryptography and precision sensing.
• This is the 119th Nobel Prize in Physics, carrying 11 million Swedish kronor to be shared among the laureates.
• This year’s announcements continue this week with chemistry on Wednesday, literature on Thursday, the peace prize on Friday and the economics prize on Monday, October 13.