The Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded for research that showed the impact of quantum mechanics on everyday-sized objects.
Quantum effects were known at the level of atoms, but in the 1980s John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis showed that at very low temperatures, the strange behavior — such as particles moving directly through apparently impassable barriers — could be demonstrated in objects large enough to be held in the hand.
The discovery paved the way for quantum computing and other quantum technologies, and opened the door to several multi-billion-dollar industries. One winner of yesterday’s Physiology prize is yet to be contacted, as he is off the grid, “living his best life” hiking in Idaho.