Nobel Prize in Physics: Award winning research appears in everyday technologies
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics went to scientists John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis, recognized for a series of experiments they carried out in electrical circuits in 1984 and 1985. Among the main discoveries, their research showed that the tunneling process occurs on scales larger than those found in the microscopic world.
But why did the Nobel Physics Committee choose to honor scientists for research from forty years ago? Much of the answer lies in the fact that the studies conducted by these three scientists shaped the progress of technologies based on the principles of Quantum Physics. As the committee chair, Olle Eriksson, said in his opening address, “Quantum mechanics forms the foundation of all digital technology”.
Do you doubt it? In today’s article we will name four everyday technologies that developers built or improved with quantum physics research over the years. Four everyday technologies developed with help from Quantum Physics.
1 - Digital cameras
There was a time when digital cameras did not exist, not even in cell phones, the ancestors of smartphones that handled only very simple tasks, especially calls. The process was analog and, in its most advanced form, cameras recorded the moment on film that later turned into physical photos through a delicate procedure called development.
The convenience of digital cameras as we know them today came from Quantum Physics. The sensors in these cameras rely on the photoelectric effect, a phenomenon explained by Albert Einstein, who showed that light, in addition to its well known wave behavior, can also act as small particles called photons.
When these photons strike the camera sensor, they carry enough energy to release electrons inside the sensor material. Each released electron matches a point of light that the sensor records.
Later, the device converts these electrons into electrical signals that the camera processor arranges to form the final image. Without Quantum Physics to explain how light interacts with matter, we could not convert light into data and modern digital cameras would not exist.
2. Smartphones
Remember that we mentioned that early mobile phones could handle only simple tasks such as calls and text messages? The shift to modern smartphones happened because of quantum mechanics, which enabled the creation of tiny transistors found in their microprocessors.
Transistors act like tiny switches that control electrical current, and they function only because of quantum phenomena that occur on microscopic scales. A smartphone contains billions of these transistors working together to process photos, run apps, connect to the internet and carry out every function we use each day, all at once.
Quantum Physics also shapes the performance of batteries and even touchscreens. Every tap, every photo and every message depends on technology built on quantum mechanical principles. Without it, no Instagram, Discord, Reddit or WhatsApp.
3. Geolocation technologies (GPS)
One of the greatest contributions of quantum mechanics to technological progress was the creation of atomic clocks, extremely precise devices that measure time through energy transitions inside atoms. But what is the purpose of such precise clocks?
Atomic clocks travel aboard satellites and synchronize the signals sent to Earth. Since GPS calculates your position by measuring the time these signals take to reach your phone, any error, even as small as a few billionths of a second, would make the location data completely inaccurate.
Without the precision that quantum mechanics provides, we could not build clocks with this level of accuracy. Without these clocks, modern geolocation technology, from map apps to aircraft navigation systems, would not exist. We would still rely on street guides and phone books, huge yellow page volumes that worked like a paper version of Google Maps, listing addresses and local business ads. Ask your parents or grandparents if you want to know more.
4. Imaging exams
Quantum mechanics also plays an essential role in healthcare. Modern imaging technologies such as CT scans and MRI scans depend on an understanding of how microscopic particles such as atomic nuclei and electrons behave, something only Quantum Physics can explain with precision.
Understanding how these particles behave allowed researchers to develop techniques that manipulate properties of matter at the atomic and subatomic level. This makes it possible to detect how different tissues respond to magnetic fields, electromagnetic waves or specific particles.
As a result, imaging exams can create highly accurate internal representations without invasive procedures. Without the theoretical foundation of quantum mechanics, modern diagnostic medicine would not have such advanced tools to detect diseases with speed, precision and safety.
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