Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 - The Schrödinger's Cat Gets Bigger

Explore the groundbreaking 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics through this theoretical physics colloquium that examines how quantum mechanical effects can be observed in macroscopic objects. Discover how quantum tunneling and energy quantization, typically associated with single atoms or molecules, extend to objects visible to the naked eye through the pioneering work of Nobel laureates John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis. Learn about their seminal 1985 experiments that demonstrated macroscopic quantum tunneling and energy quantization in electric circuits, effectively making "Schrödinger's Cat" bigger by showing that quantum mechanics applies to artificially-defined macroscopic objects. Understand the fundamental principles behind these discoveries, from electron orbitals and photon emission to proton fusion in the Sun, and how these concepts scale up to macroscopic quantum systems that challenge our understanding of the quantum-classical boundary.