This year, the Nobel Prize has been awarded three American scientists in physics. John Clark, Mitchell Davarret and John Martinis. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced this on Tuesday. The award was given for a large quantum tunling and the discovery of energy levels in the electrical circuit.
Quantum tunling is a process in which the particle exits not by jumping a barrier but crossing it. This should be impossible according to normal physics. In everyday life we see the ball bouncing from the wall but the small particles in the quantum world sometimes cross the wall and go to the other side. This is called quantum tunneling.
Scientists showed quantum effects on the human scale
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said these scientists showed that quantum effects on the human scale could be observed. One of the basic questions in physics is whether quantum effects, which are usually limited to atoms and particles can be observed on a large scale.
To solve this, John Clark, Mitchell Davarret and John Martinis performed a unique experiment at the University of California in 1984 and 1985. He created an electrical circuit using two superconductors (a material that can operate uninterrupted electricity). At a thin layer blocked the electrical carrying between these two superconductors. However, he observed that all the charged particles in the circuit behave together as if they were the same particle.
These particles can cross a thin layer and go to the other side which was a proof of quantum tunneling. This experiment allowed scientists to control and understand how quantum tunneling works in large systems. This search is an important progress for quantum computing and new technologies. This invention can help develop quantum computing and new techniques in the future. Quantum technology is used in semiconductors, computers and microchips. It is the foundation of digital technology.
