American, Frenchman Jointly Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics
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Dan Kitwood/Getty Images(STOCKHOLM) — An American and Frenchman were jointly awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for their work in quantum physics.
In a statement, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said David J. Wineland from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado Boulder, and Serge Haroche from the Collège de France and Ecole Normale Supérieure, won “for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems.”
[ Click Here to Read the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ Full Statement ]
The two Nobel Laureates, who both work in the field of quantum optics studying the interaction between light and matter, “have opened the door to a new era of experimentation with quantum physics by demonstrating the direct observation of individual quantum systems without destroying them,” according to the Royal Academy.
“Their ground-breaking methods have enabled this field of research to take the very first steps towards building a new type of super fast computer based on quantum physics,” the Academy continued. “The research has also led to the construction of extremely precise clocks that could become the future basis for a new standard of time, with more than hundred-fold greater precision than present-day caesium clocks.”
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