STOCKHOLM -- Three US-based scientists, John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis, have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Tuesday.

"Their experiments on a chip revealed quantum physics in action," the Academy said in a statement.

Quantum mechanics allows particles to pass through barriers in a process known as tunnelling. Normally, such effects disappear when many particles are involved.

The laureates' experiments showed that quantum behavior can instead manifest on a macroscopic scale, said the Academy, adding that the discovery paved the way for advances in quantum technology, including quantum computers, sensors and cryptography.

"It is wonderful to be able to celebrate the way that century-old quantum mechanics continually offers new surprises," said Olle Eriksson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics. "It is also enormously useful, as quantum mechanics is the foundation of all digital technology."