Oct 07, Kathmandu - The Nobel Prize in Physics for this year has been awarded to three American scientists: John Clark, Michael Devoe, and John Martinis, according to an official announcement released on Tuesday afternoon.

The laureates will receive a prize of 11 million Swedish kronor (approximately 16.5 million NPR), along with gold medals and certificates. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place in Stockholm on December 10.

According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, this year's Nobel in Physics is awarded “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantization observed in an electrical circuit.”

The announcement highlights that their experiments with chips have directly demonstrated quantum physics phenomena.

Quantum mechanics allows particles to pass through barriers directly, a phenomenon known as tunneling. Generally, such quantum effects tend to fade when many particles are involved. However, the winners’ experiments have shown that quantum properties can be observed clearly even at a macroscopic (large-scale) level.

The Nobel Committee awarded this year's prize to scientists who discovered “macroscopic quantum mechanics.”

The announcement states that the laureates demonstrated that the system behaves according to quantum theory, with energy levels being quantized—meaning the system absorbs or emits only specific amounts of energy.

Transistors used in modern microchips are an established example of quantum technology. The scientists’ discovery has opened new pathways for next-generation quantum technologies, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors, the Nobel Committee said.