The Nobel panel announced on Tuesday that American John Martinis, Frenchman Michel Devoret, and Briton John Clarke had won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on quantum physics in action.

"For the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantization in an electric circuit," the judges declared, the three were honored.

The way things behave on extremely small scales is described by quantum mechanics.

For instance, when a typical ball collides with a wall, it bounces back. Yet, a phenomenon known as "tunneling" occurs on the quantum scale when a particle actually passes through a similar wall.

Tuesday's prize was given out for tests conducted in the 1980s that demonstrated that utilizing superconductors, quantum tunneling could also be seen on a macroscopic scale involving many particles.

According to a statement from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the researchers showed in a series of tests that the strange characteristics of the quantum realm may be made tangible in a system large enough to be grasped in the hand.

The verdict concluded that the discoveries have made possible the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum computers, quantum sensors, and quantum cryptography.

British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton and American John Hopfield were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics last year for their groundbreaking research on the fundamentals of artificial intelligence.

However, both men cautioned that their findings posed serious threats to humanity and civilization.

The prize for chemistry will be awarded on Wednesday after the physics prize.

Thursday will see the announcement of the literary prize, and Friday will see the much anticipated Nobel Peace Prize.

On October 14, the economics prize concludes the 2024 Nobel season.

Should there be several winners in a discipline, the $1.2 million check, diploma, and gold medal are awarded as part of the Nobel Prize.

At a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf will present the laureates with their awards.

The prizes were established in the will of the physicist Alfred Nobel, who passed away on that date in 1896.