The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to a group of physicists on Tuesday for their work in the area of quantum mechanics, which has prepared the way for the development of quantum computers, networks, and secure encrypted communication.
Alain Aspect from France, John Clauser of the United States and Austria’s Anton Zeilinger were honoured “for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science,” the jury said.
Each scientist “conducted ground-breaking experiments using entangled quantum states, where two particles behave like a single unit even when they are separated,” the committee said, adding that the “results have cleared the way for new technology based upon quantum information.”
On December 10, the anniversary of the death of physicist Alfred Nobel in 1896, who established the prizes in his final will and testament, the three will each receive a prize for 10 million Swedish kronor ($901,500) at a ceremony in Stockholm.
Last year, the academy recognized German Klaus Hasselmann and Japanese and American Syukuro Manabe for their work on climate models, while Italian Giorgio Parisi was also recognized for his study on the interaction between disorder and variations in physical systems.
The Chemistry Prize winners will be announced on Wednesday, followed by the much awaited Literature and Peace prizes on Thursday and Friday, as the Nobel season continues this week.
The International Criminal Court, which is in charge of looking into war crimes in Ukraine, imprisoned Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, and Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg have all been mentioned as potential winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.
On Monday, October 10, the Economics Prize concludes.
