Work could lead to revolutions in computing
Web edition : 6:31 am
The 2012 Nobel prize in physics went to a pair of physicists for their pioneering work in quantum optics, which manipulates particles of light and matter to measure very precise properties of single particles.
The Nobel committee awarded the prize on October 9 to Serge Haroche, a physicist at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, and David Wineland, of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo. The two were cited for related but independent work:?Wineland creates traps for charged atoms and shoots in laser light to control those particles. Haroche bounces light particles between mirrors to probe their quantum states.
Discoveries based on those experiments have already been used to develop ultra-accurate atomic clocks, and could eventually lead to the development of quantum computers much faster and more secure than existing electron-based technology.
"We have champagne at home," Haroche said via a telephone link with the Nobel press conference in Stockholm. The French winner said he sat down when he saw the Swedish calling prefix on his phone this morning. He had been walking with his wife, and immediately called to tell his children and his colleagues.
This year's physics prize is worth 8 million Swedish kronor, or about $1.2 million, and will be shared equally between the winners.
Found in: Matter & Energy and Physics
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