Indian Express Important Articles for 09 October 2025

Radical tunnel

The Physics Nobel exemplies value of inquiry not driven by immediate utility

J ohn Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis’s experiments in the 1980s proved that the strange laws of quantum mechanics could govern not just subatomic particles but entire circuits visible to the eye. Their discovery of macroscopic quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit won them the 2025 Physics Nobel Prize. This marks a signicant interval since quantum mechanics last directly featured in a Physics Nobel, noticeable given the eld’s enduring vitality, and at a time when the world anticipates profound revolutions in computing and communications. Their experiments at the University of California, demonstrated quantum behaviour in a circuit comprising two superconductors separated by an ultrathin insulating barrier, also known as a Josephson junction. In classical physics, a current owing through this system would be trapped in a zerovoltage state unless it had enough energy to cross the barrier. But at temperatures near absolute zero, they found that the current could escape by ‘tunnelling’ through the barrier, a uniquely quantum phenomenon. The system also behaved as if it were a single large particle, with discrete energy levels instead of a continuous range. To ensure these eects were not artefacts of noise in the circuits, the team took elaborate pains to isolate them from stray microwave radiation. Their results conrmed that a superconducting phase difference, a collective property of the trillions of pairs of electrons that sustained superconductivity, behaved as a single quantum variable

Josephson junctions are the foundation of superconducting qubits, which animate many of today’s leading quantum computers; superconducting circuits also underpin ultrasensitive magnetometers, quantum voltage standards and single-photon detectors used in astronomy and biomedical imaging. By conrming that quantum laws apply to objects “big enough to hold in your hand”, the laureates opened a new domain of applied quantum engineering. Today, the challenge is not to prove that macroscopic quantum behaviour exists but to preserve it long enough to be useful. Quantum states are exquisitely sensitive to their surroundings; research thus focuses on materials with lower loss, better ltering and cryogenic control and hybrid architectures that combine superconducting circuits with mechanical, photonic or spin-based systems. The 2025 prize also exemplies the value of inquiry driven solely by curiosity about nature’s limits. When the laureates set out to test whether quantum mechanics could govern a macroscopic electrical circuit, no one foresaw its consequences. Their pursuit of a fundamental question produced the principles underpinning the pursuit of engineers today, including in India, of new technologies — and prestige for their host countries.

Overall Analysis

This editorial celebrates the 2025 Physics Nobel Prize winners — John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis — for proving that quantum phenomena operate not only at microscopic levels but also in visible, macroscopic systems. It highlights the intellectual significance of curiosity-driven research and its long-term technological rewards.

The article begins with an informative and appreciative tone, describing how the laureates’ experiments in the 1980s confirmed macroscopic quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation in electrical circuits. Through precise and technical language, it connects their work to today’s breakthroughs in quantum computing and communication. The use of detailed scientific explanation (e.g., Josephson junctions, superconductors) reflects the editorial’s goal — to make advanced science understandable without oversimplifying it.

In the next section, the focus shifts from discovery to application. The editorial explains how Josephson junctions became the foundation of superconducting qubits, forming the backbone of modern quantum technology. The writing balances scientific depth with clarity, using well-organized exposition and technical accuracy. The language also evokes awe for human ingenuity, using expressions like “big enough to hold in your hand” to underscore the magnitude of the achievement.

The final part delivers the central philosophical message — science’s greatest advances often arise from pure curiosity, not immediate practical goals. The author praises the laureates’ spirit of inquiry, contrasting it with short-sighted utilitarian research agendas. The phrase “inquiry driven solely by curiosity about nature’s limits” captures the essence of fundamental science. The closing lines elegantly connect their 1980s experiments to today’s global scientific progress, including India’s participation in quantum research.

Overall, the editorial is both scientific and reflective, celebrating the value of long-term, curiosity-driven exploration and its power to transform technology and prestige for nations.

Important Vocabulary (5)

Macroscopic – large enough to be visible to the naked eye.
Quantisation – the process of restricting a physical quantity to discrete values.
Superconducting – relating to materials that conduct electricity without resistance at very low temperatures.
Phenomenon – an observable event or occurrence, especially one studied scientifically.
Curiosity-driven inquiry – research motivated by the desire to understand rather than by practical application.

Conclusion & Tone

The editorial emphasizes that true scientific progress stems from intellectual curiosity, not just immediate usefulness. By honouring the Nobel laureates, it reaffirms faith in fundamental research that expands human knowledge and leads, eventually, to transformative technologies.