The Nobel prize in physics 2025 has been awarded to British, French and American scientists for their work on quantum mechanics.

John Clarke, a British physicist based at the University of California at Berkeley, Michel Devoret, a French physicist based at Yale University, and John Martinis, of the University of California Santa Barbara, share the 11m Swedish kronor (about £871,400) prize announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm.

The trio led a series of experiments that demonstrated that the bizarre properties of the quantum world can translate into measurable effects in the everyday.

This included developing a superconducting electrical system that could tunnel from one physical state to another, the equivalent of a ball passing straight through a wall rather than bouncing back.

The breakthrough paved the way for the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers and quantum sensors.

Speaking at a press conference, Prof Clarke, who had only learned of the award through a phone call, said: “To put it mildly, it was the surprise of my life.”