Nobel Physics Laureate: "The Most Astonishing Event of My Life... Even Mobile Phones Work Thanks to This Research"

John Clarke, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who jointly received this year's Nobel Prize in Physics, described the honor as "the most astonishing event" of his life.

Illustration of John Clark, one of the three Nobel Prize in Physics laureates this year and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Nobel Committee

According to foreign media outlets such as the Associated Press on October 7 (local time), Professor Clarke made these remarks in a phone interview with reporters immediately after the Nobel Committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced this year's laureates.

He said, "I was truly surprised," adding, "I never thought my work could form the basis for a Nobel Prize." Regarding his fellow laureates, Michel Devoret of Yale University and John Martinis of the University of California, Santa Barbara, he expressed his respect, saying, "Their contributions are truly overwhelming."

In particular, during the phone call on his mobile phone, Professor Clarke remarked, "One of the fundamental reasons our mobile phones work is thanks to all of this research."

Speaking about their research, he stated, "In some ways, our discoveries can be considered the foundation of quantum computing," but added, "It's not entirely clear to me at this moment exactly where this fits in."

Professor Clarke and the other two laureates were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for demonstrating that quantum mechanical properties can manifest even in macroscopic systems.

The Nobel Committee stated that quantum mechanics forms the basis of all modern digital technology and will contribute to the advancement of next-generation quantum technologies, including quantum computers, quantum cryptography, and quantum sensors.