STOCKHOLM — American David Wineland and Frenchman Serge Haroche have won the 2012 Nobel Prize in physics for developing methods for observing tiny quantum particles without destroying them.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited the scientists Tuesday saying the pair’s research has allowed the “first steps towards building a new type of super fast computer-based on quantum physics” and “has also led to the construction of extremely precise clocks.”

Haroche and Wineland, both 68, work in quantum optics, which deals with the interaction between light and matter.

The prize in medicine went to stem cell pioneersJohn Gurdon of Britain and Japan’s Shinya Yamanaka. Each award is worth about $1.2 million.