Macroscopic quantum tunnelling in an electric circuit (Nobel 2025)
John ClarkeMichel H. DevoretJohn M. Martinis
This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute. Method
For everyone
Quantum effects are usually seen in single atoms. In 1984–1985 Clarke, Devoret and Martinis showed that a superconducting circuit large enough to hold in the hand tunnels quantum-mechanically as a whole and has discrete energy levels. This work underlies today's superconducting quantum computers. It received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics.
For specialists
The escape rate of a current-biased Josephson junction from its zero-voltage state became temperature-independent at low temperature and could be explained by quantum tunnelling. Microwave spectroscopy showed quantised energy levels of the phase-difference degree of freedom in its potential well. The degree of freedom behaving quantum-mechanically here is a collective variable of billions of Cooper pairs.
Claims
- A collective variable of a macroscopic electric circuit exhibits quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation.[1]
Evidence
Connections
Sources
- Article (1985). Energy-level quantization in the zero-voltage state of a current-biased Josephson junction. Physical Review Letters 55, 1543–1546DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.55.1543archive
- Web (2025). The Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 (press release). NobelPrize.orgnobelprize.orgarchive
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Cite this page
Athena contributors. (2026). Macroscopic quantum tunnelling in an electric circuit (Nobel 2025). Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/makroskopik-tunelleme/
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