Nobel Prize in Physics 2025

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics once again goes to "quantum mechanics".

Quantum mechanics talks about the laws of the microscopic world. Small things such as electrons and atoms will do things that seem to "go against common sense". For example, a single particle sometimes uses "walking through the wall" and appears on the other side of the barrier--and this year's Nobel Prize in Physics winners have made "quantum strange things" appear in the world visible to the naked eye.

The winner was a ¡°Dream Team¡± 40 years ago ¨C not a team of giants, but a combination of ¡°tutors + postdoctors + doctoral students¡±.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 announced at the scene / Xinhua news agency reporter Penkoyan

Forty years ago, 43-year-old John Clarke, 32-year-old Michelle H. Devorett, and 27-year-old John M. Martinez conducted a series of experiments using the electronic circuits made up of superconductors to reveal how quantum physics works on a macro-scale.

Although quantum physics is mysterious, reality has many applications.

Transistors and semiconductor chips are the existing mature applications of quantum technology. "Our discovery is the foundation of quantum computing ¡­ One of the fundamental reasons why mobile phones can work is because of these jobs," Clark said in a telephone interview at the Nobel Prize site.

Quantum mechanics is the foundation of all digital technologies, but it's more than that. The Nobel Committee said that the work of the three winners opened a window for the development of the next generation of quantum technologies, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers and quantum sensors.

Among the three winners, John M. Martinez was best known, not only as an experimental physicist, but also as a highly applied technical expert, and was known as ¡°the engineer among physicists.¡±

Pictured John M. Martinis

Since his doctorate, he has devoted himself to quantum computing with great concentration, proving "quantum hegemony" for Google, leading the team to "liver" more than 200 papers in six years, and parting ways with the goal of "building a quantum computer".

From "quantum wall penetration" to "qubit"

In many interviews, Martinis mentioned a book that had a deep influence on him,"From Zero to One."

This is a book of business philosophy, and its core point of view can be summarized as follows: future progress lies in "vertical progress", that is, creation from 0 to 1, rather than "horizontal progress", that is, replication from 1 to many.

For Martinez, his discovery and practice of quantum physics was also a process from zero to one.

Forty years ago, Martinis was a doctoral student, but the experiment that changed his career was already taking shape.

At the age of 27, Martinis studied under Clark, a tutor who explored the quantum properties of superconductors and had a steady style. He witnessed his meticulous measurement, neatly coiled wires in the laboratory, clearly labeled instruments, and his fascination with precision made Berkeley's cryogenic laboratory the most sophisticated testing place in physics.

It was also here that Martinis met 32-year-old postdoctoral researcher Michelle H. Devorette, who liked to ask,"What if...?"-- This question can inspire new ideas and keep experiments alive after countless failures.

Photograph by Michel H. DeWalter.

Martinis responsible for building and debugging the equipment until it operates fully in accordance with the requirements of the experimental design and is sensitive to engineering and technology.

Their goal seems simple: to explore whether macrosystems can function like quantum systems.

Their discovery is shocking.

The strangeness of quantum mechanics is that it completely breaks our understanding of "common sense". In the microscopic world, particles can cross an obstacle that would otherwise be impossible to cross without enough energy. This seemingly "impossible" phenomenon is called quantum tunneling by scientists, which allows tiny particles such as electrons and atoms to "pass through walls"-appearing on the other side of the barrier.

However, as the quantum scale expands to a certain value, the walling technique will fail, becoming like the tennis in the macro world, and hit the wall to rebound.

Tunnel Effects in Quantum Mechanics

And in the lab, the breakthroughs made by John Clarke, Michelle DeWalter, and John Martinez have just transformed this ¡°quantum mural¡± into a phenomenon that can be observed in the world visible to the naked eye.

In their experiments, a superconducting circuit on a chip about a centimeter in size, like a ¡°gigantic atom,¡± demonstrated the most strange properties of quantum mechanics¡ªenergy quantization and quantum tuning.

The superconducting circuit of billions of Cooper pairs (note: two electrons are coupled under certain conditions) can "tunnel" from one state to another, thereby generating voltage where it shouldn't exist -- it's like a circuit passing through an invisible wall.

In ordinary conductors, electrons collide with each other and also collide with the conductor material. When a material becomes a superconductor, electrons bind together to form a Cooper pair and form a current without resistance. Cooper pairs can act as a single particle, filling the entire circuit.

Theoretical physicist Anthony Legger pointed out, ¡°This suggests that the strange behavior of the quantum world does not disappear as it expands.¡±This insight radically changed quantum research, bringing the rules of quantum physics of the micro-world into the circuits and wires of the macro-world, not only breaking the boundary between micro and macro, but also laying the foundation for the development of quantum computers.

Scientists can therefore invent "artificial atoms" as prototypes of quantum devices that can process information by manipulating energy - and Martinez has since used this principle to create "superconducting quantum bits", the basic units of quantum computers, paving the way for the development of "next generation digital technologies".

Join Google and prove "quantum hegemony"

Winning the Nobel Prize in Physics was not the only highlight of Martinis 'life.

Prior to this, he was better known as the leader of Google¡¯s Quantum Computing R&D team. In 2014, he joined Google¡¯s Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab with the team to start developing quantum computers.

In 2019, the Martinis team successfully developed a quantum processor called Sycamore, and published an iconic paper announcing that Sycamore completed a classic supercomputer task that took 10,000 years to complete (or actually could not be completed in a reasonable time) in about 200 seconds, thereby achieving ¡°quantum hegemony.¡±

Sycamore quantum processor

Quantum hegemony is a statement put by theoretical physicist John Preskill, which means that the performance of quantum computers overwhelmingly surpasses that of traditional computers and even supercomputers in specific tasks. In a nutshell, it is to prove that quantum machines can do things that traditional machines can't.

This news has shocked not only the quantum computing industry that has just begun, but the entire scientific community as well.Many have predicted that it will take several years or even decades to ¡°quantum hegemony.¡±

Although the term ¡°quantum hegemony¡± has sparked complaints from competitors like IBM that Google has exaggerated the time it takes for conventional computer simulations to perform the task, and that optimized algorithms can be done in a shorter time, the Martinis team¡¯s experiment is still seen as a milestone in quantum computing from theory to engineering practice.

However, the task of "quantum hegemony" must be specially designed, rather than directly solving a problem with practical application value. Its main function is to "prove the concept" to prove the feasibility of quantum technology principles and the great potential of quantum computing.

Martinis not satisfied with this, but builds quantum computers that can truly help humans. He knows that practical quantum computers may be the key to the success of the industry.

Schematic diagram of Google quantum computer

"When I do basic research, knowing that eventually there will be an application, a device, or a system that needs to be built is very beneficial to me. For me, this is a natural process. I will start with the most basic questions and think seriously. What do we need to know to make something really work?" Matinis said during an interview.

One practical use of quantum computers is to help researchers better understand chemistry, which could drive new advances in areas ranging from medicine to materials science.

"I think about using it for quantum chemistry-this is actually the quantum computer scheme originally proposed by Richard Feynman-it can map the physical process of electrons interacting through atoms in molecules," Martinis said. "This is a classic puzzle, and you can solve this problem with the power of quantum computers."

1965 Nobel Prize winner in physics Richard Feynman

Martinith believes that quantum computers also have the potential to help research sustainable energy technologies, such as more efficient batteries, "and better batteries may really change the world economy." Or optimize aircraft routes and resource routes. "Even a solution that is 5% or 10% better than now is enough to save enterprises a lot of money and costs. This is really interesting and worth studying."

He is optimistic that quantum computing will ultimately benefit more and more people, and that quantum technology has the potential to be commercialized by a range of companies, not just big tech companies.

¡°My hope and dream is that if we can build a quantum computer, we can really start solving these practical problems.

Go out of Google, the disagreement of the pragmatists

When Google announced quantum hegemony, Google boss Sandar Pichai specifically mentioned Martinis's name, comparing the historic achievement to the Wright brothers 'first test flight.

Only half a year later, Martinis unexpectedly resigned from Google.

During this period, he was removed from a leadership position and demoted to a consultant, and eventually Matonis left Google.

He described his complicated situation to the media and the reasons why he finally decided to resign.

He revealed that tensions within the hardware team he led for years began when they proposed a quantum hegemony experiment.

Martinis's personal research style emphasizes focusing on important issues, just as the quantum hegemony experiment is a milestone, extremely challenging but still feasible in his opinion. But for teams, it is difficult to focus.

Martinez in front of the Google Lab

¡°I think it¡¯s hard for people in the team to focus on quantum hegemony, because that means they can¡¯t do other things they want to do, and most importantly, we may fail.¡± ¨C Martinez describes the divisions and conflicts within the team, ¡°Absolutely optimistic people are rare ... I definitely wanted to create a quantum computer with a specific design, thinking of letting us focus on this and let it work ... I think my success in physics comes from that.¡±

Paradoxically,"Once we achieve quantum hegemony, we don't need such a high degree of focus, and everyone will naturally want more independence... Seeing the tension between everyone, they (the team) and management think it's best to let me stop leading this project."

Martinis tried to work as a consultant for some time, and he was very effective in his scope of work, but when it came to connecting qubit systems, unpleasant differences reappeared.

In this session, it is crucial to design in a scalable and cost-effective way, and Martinis disagrees with an "theorist with no experimental experience". Martinis pointed out that the other side's solution won't work, but the other side is unwilling to give up; He instead discussed with management Hart Mutter, hoping to drop a project that didn't seem to him meaningful, but was not supported, and Hart Mutter wanted to continue trying two projects.

by Hartmut

"I feel that this whole year has made me very uncomfortable and I just can't bear it because I've been making hardware decisions for a long time. I think I know the best way to move technology in a clear direction." "I'm sad because I really thought we could create something beautiful together, but you know, things don't always go the way you want them to."

After that, Martinis left Google alone and moved to Australia to join SQC, a quantum computing startup. At the time, SQC was focusing on expanding its technology platform and advancing commercial quantum computers, which was exactly what Martinis wanted to do when he was at Google.

¡°I chose to come to SQC because they value the unique method of atomic-grade manufacturing. There is no other person in the world who can do it.¡± ¨C Professor Martinis explains his choice, ¡°Building a quantum computer is my lifelong dream. If we can successfully build a quantum computer on a massive scale, it will be a transformative achievement with a huge impact and will have a profound impact on humanity.¡±

Quantum computing startup SQC team

Martinez¡¯s departure is not a story of disappointment, but a new chapter of an experimental physicist and technical engineer seeking to unleash his talent and continue to fulfill his scientific mission.

On October 8, in a phone call from the Nobel Prize Organizing Committee, Martinis recalled 40 years ago, missing the time he spent with Clark and Devoret inspiring each other's ideas and contributing towards a goal.

Although it is challenging to leave Google and build another quantum computer, he said that he enjoys the process of thinking about a clear goal-what work we need to do and who we need to cooperate with to build a commercially feasible quantum computer.

At the end of the call, Martinez summarizes his career along the way forward along ¡°quantum computing.¡±

Whether it was the research that brought him the Nobel Prize 40 years ago, or joining Google to lead a team to prove "quantum hegemony" through experiments, or leaving Google to continue building quantum computers, it was actually a pursuit: at the right time, the right place (company), working with the right people, and using the right technology.

Author | Shi Jingjing

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