John Clarke, Michel H Devoret and John M Martinis won the Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for research on seemingly obscure quantum tunnelling that is advancing digital technology.

Clarke, 83, conducted his research at the University of California, Berkeley; Martinis at the University of California, Santa Barbara; and Devoret at Yale and the University of California, Santa Barbara. “One of the reasons that cellphones work is because of this work,” Clarke said, speaking from his cellphone.