Physics Nobel: How laureates showed quantum effects on a life-size scale

Harnessing the strange properties of the quantum world for real-world use is the key to the future.

Even people without a background in science are familiar with Schrödinger’s cat because of the sheer audacity of the idea: the cat in a box is both alive and dead at the same time until you actually observe it, at which time it is definitely dead. Although he was one of the pioneers of quantum physics, Erwin Schrödinger’s thought experiment showed that the ideas of quantum mechanics cannot easily be understood when viewed in terms of real-world objects.

John Clarke, Michel H Devoret and John M Martinis are announced this year's Nobel Prize winners in Physics. (REUTERS)