British scientist among Nobel Prize winners for discoveries in quantum physics

A British scientist is among three Nobel Prize winners in physics for research into quantum mechanical tunnelling.

John Clarke, who originally studied at the University of Cambridge, conducted his research in the US at the University of California.

“To put it mildly, it was the surprise of my life,” Mr Clarke told reporters at the announcement by phone after being told of his win.

Michel H Devoret and John M Martinis also won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday.

Mr Clarke, a fellow of the Royal Society of London and the Institute of Physics, paid tribute to the other two laureates, saying that “their contributions are just overwhelming”.

“Our discovery in some ways is the basis of quantum computing. Exactly at this moment where this fits in is not entirely clear to me.”

Speaking from his mobile phone, Mr Clarke said: “One of the underlying reasons that cellphones work is because of all this work.”

The Nobel committee said that the laureates’ work provides opportunities to develop “the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors”.

“It is wonderful to be able to celebrate the way that century-old quantum mechanics continually offers new surprises,” said Olle Eriksson, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics.

“It is also enormously useful, as quantum mechanics is the foundation of all digital technology.”

It is the 119th time the prize has been awarded.

Last year, artificial intelligence pioneers John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton won the physics prize for helping create the building blocks of machine learning.

Nobel announcements continue with the chemistry prize on Wednesday and literature on Thursday.

The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the Nobel Memorial Prize in economics on October 13.

The award ceremony will be held December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of Alfred Nobel, the wealthy Swedish industrialist and the inventor of dynamite who founded the prizes.

The prizes carry priceless prestige and a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor (£872,000).