The 100-year journey from quantum science to quantum technology

You may not have realised it yet, but the United Nations has declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.

However, it really is something to celebrate, not least because the electronic device that you are using to read this article depends on some of the advanced applications of quantum phenomena.

This year was chosen because 2025 marks the centenary of the publication of the first articles on quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics.

These research papers identified the scientific principles that describe the motion and interaction of subatomic particles like photons and electrons – the particles that make up everything we currently understand about matter.

A century later, technologies...