Nobel Prize in Physics 2025

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Why in News?

2025 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded by Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to John Clarke, Michel Devoret & John Martinis.

Macroscopic Quantum Tunnelling: Laureates extended quantum tunneling from microscopic scales to macroscopic systems, showing that superconducting circuits could exhibit quantum behaviors like tunneling & energy quantization.
Using Josephson junctions, they observed system’s electrical state "tunneling" through energy barriers at near absolute zero, confirming quantum behavior.
Significance:
Paved the way for superconducting qubits and advancements in quantum sensing & simulation.
Quantum computers could disrupt classical encryption systems.
Countries, including India, are heavily investing in quantum technology, with India’s National Quantum Computing Mission.

Quantum Tunnelling

Phenomenon where particles pass through barriers that classical physics deems impossible, due to wave-particle duality.

Applications:

Scanning Tunnelling Microscope (STM): Uses quantum tunnelling to map surfaces at the atomic level.
Flash Memory (USB drives & SSDs): Data stored in floating-gate transistors where electrons tunnel onto or off the gate.
Josephson Junctions: Used in superconducting quantum computers and SQUIDs, relying on electron tunnelling.
Quantum Computing: Enables qubits to exist in multiple states and transition between them; essential for quantum algorithms.
Nuclear Fusion: Allows atomic nuclei to fuse, powering the Sun and offering clean energy potential.