Quantum physics are not likely well-understood by many people in Milwaukee – or the rest of the world – but one Milwaukee native turned the topic into big news this week.
Dr. David Wineland, who was born here in Milwaukee, and Frenchman Serge Haroche have been awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Through Wineland’s work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado, along with Haroche’s findings at the College de France and Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, the two men have shown the physics world a new way of experimenting with quantum particles.
Because of their research, physicists can observe individual particles without destroying them. This is significant because they are the first steps to making a new type of super-fast computer based on quantum physics, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences told the Associated Press.
Though the two men work separately, they are sharing the award.
Photo courtesy of Nobel Media.
