At the University of Rochester<\/a>, researchers are exploring the same quantum phenomena highlighted by the Nobel Prize\u2013winning work, both to study fundamental physics and to develop new quantum technologies.<\/p>\n \u201cFor a long time, the physics community thought quantum effects were limited to individual particles like single electrons or atoms,\u201d says Machiel Blok<\/a>, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy<\/a>. \u201cThe experiments that won the Nobel Prize showed us that quantum effects can appear in much larger systems, which blurs the boundary between quantum and classical physics.\u201d<\/p>\n Blok\u2019s lab creates superconducting circuits<\/a> with qudits<\/a>, which are quantum computing units that can exist in multiple states at once. In these circuits, electrons can \u201ctunnel\u201d through barriers, allowing qudits to occupy two or more states simultaneously, a key property for building quantum computers. In other words, Blok\u2019s research uses the same fundamental physics recognized by the 2025 Nobel Prize to build larger-scale quantum systems that can perform computations impossible for classical devices.<\/p>\n \u201cQuantum tunneling is at the core of everything we do,\u201d Blok says.<\/p>\n The Nobel Committee awarded John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis the 2025 Nobel for \u201cthe discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantization in an electric circuit.\u201d To explain quantum tunneling, Blok turns to the classic metaphor of a child throwing a ball at a wall. According to the laws of classical physics, if the ball hits the wall, it bounces back. It can\u2019t pass through unless the child throws it hard enough to go over or break the wall.<\/p>\n In quantum mechanics, however, particles behave not just as solid objects but also as waves of probability that can spread out. For very small particles such as electrons, this wave-like nature means that part of the wave can sometimes slip through the wall and appear on the other side of a barrier. The result is quantum tunneling, a phenomenon where particles can occasionally pass through barriers they seemingly shouldn\u2019t be able to cross, according to classical physics.<\/p>\n Normally objects such as a ball are too big to behave like a quantum particle. But the research conducted by the 2025 Nobel laureates showed that this kind of quantum behavior can appear not only in tiny, subatomic particles but also in larger objects made of many particles.<\/p>\n \u201cIn essence, they built a big Schrodinger\u2019s cat,\u2019\u201d Blok says, referencing the famous thought experiment in which a cat can be simultaneously alive and dead\u2014a metaphor for a system that exists in multiple states at once.<\/p>\n![\"Example](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/inline-superconducting-circuits-qudits.jpg\")
CHIP SHOT: A superconducting circuits made of Niobium on Silicon substrate and fabricated at the University of Rochester cleanroom (URNano). (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)
\nWhat is \u201cmacroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling\u201d?<\/p>\n
![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/art-of-science-winner-sayes.jpeg\")
PARADOX IN A BOX: Edge of Existence: Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s Cat by Abdulwahab Sayes \u201926, winner of the