Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
"Our experimental work stemmed from a question asked by Professor Anthony Leggett: 'Do macroscopic variables, like for instance the current in an electrical circuit, obey quantum mechanics?'
Not every physicist in the 1980’s agreed this question deserved years of complex experiments. But, as Tony said , 'If there’s something in the conventional wisdom that you don’t understand, worry away at it, for as long as it takes, and don’t be deterred by the assurances of your fellow physicists that these questions are well understood'."
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 was awarded jointly to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis "for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit".
© Nobel Prize Outreach
"Our experimental work stemmed from a question asked by Professor Anthony Leggett: 'Do macroscopic variables, like for instance the current in an electrical circuit, obey quantum mechanics?'
Not every physicist in the 1980’s agreed this question deserved years of complex experiments. But, as Tony said , 'If there’s something in the conventional wisdom that you don’t understand, worry away at it, for as long as it takes, and don’t be deterred by the assurances of your fellow physicists that these questions are well understood'."
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 was awarded jointly to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis "for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit".
© Nobel Prize Outreach
