This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to three American scientists: John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced this on Tuesday. The award was given for the discovery of large-scale quantum tunneling and energy levels in electrical circuits. Quantum tunneling is the process in which a particle passes through a barrier, not by jumping over it. This should be impossible according to ordinary physics. In everyday life, we see a ball bounce off a wall and bounce back. But in the quantum world, tiny particles sometimes cross the wall and go to the other side. This is called quantum tunneling. Scientists prove quantum effects at the human scale The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences stated that these scientists demonstrated that quantum effects can be observed at the human scale. Indeed, a fundamental question in physics has been whether quantum effects, which are usually limited to atoms and particles, can also be observed at the larger scale. To this end, John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis conducted a unique experiment at the University of California in 1984 and 1985. They created an electrical circuit using two superconductors (materials that can conduct electricity uninterrupted). A thin layer blocked the flow of electricity between these two superconductors. Nevertheless, they observed that all the charged particles in the circuit behaved together as if they were a single particle. These particles could cross the thin layer and move to the other side, which was evidence of quantum tunneling. This experiment allowed scientists to control and understand how quantum tunneling works in large systems. This discovery is a significant advance for quantum computing and new technologies. This discovery could help develop quantum computing and new technologies in the future. Quantum technology is used in semiconductors, computers, and microchips. It is the foundation of digital technology.
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