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- DictionaryQuan·tum phys·ics
plural
- 1. the branch of physics concerned with quantum theory: "quantum physics allows for particles to be in two states at the same time"
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Quantum physics is the study of matter and energy at the most fundamental level. It aims to uncover the properties and behaviors of the very building blocks of nature, such as quanta, wave-particle duality, superposition, uncertainty principle, and entanglement.
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that describes the behavior of nature at and below the scale of atoms.: 1.1 It is the foundation of all quantum physics, which includes quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science.
Quantum physics is the physics that explains how everything works at the smallest scales, from atoms to particles. It involves quantum mechanics, quantum field theories and quantum mysteries such as entanglement and the measurement problem.
Apr 29, 2024 · Quantum mechanics, or quantum physics, is the body of scientific laws that describe the wacky behavior of photons, electrons and the other subatomic particles that make up the universe.
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quantum mechanics, science dealing with the behaviour of matter and light on the atomic and subatomic scale. It attempts to describe and account for the properties of molecules and atoms and their constituents—electrons, protons, neutrons, and other more esoteric particles such as quarks and gluons. These properties include the interactions of the particles with one another and with electromagnetic radiation (i.e., light, X-rays, and gamma rays).
The behaviour of matter and radiation on the atomic scale often seems peculiar, and the consequences of quantum theory are accordingly difficult to understand and to believe. Its concepts frequently conflict with common-sense notions derived from observations of the everyday world. There is no reason, however, why the behaviour of the atomic world should conform to that of the familiar, large-scale world. It is important to realize that quantum mechanics is a branch of physics and that the business of physics is to describe and account for the way the world—on both the large and the small scale—actually is and not how one imagines it or would like it to be.
At a fundamental level, both radiation and matter have characteristics of particles and waves. The gradual recognition by scientists that radiation has particle-like properties and that matter has wavelike properties provided the impetus for the development of quantum mechanics. Influenced by Newton, most physicists of the 18th century believed that light consisted of particles, which they called corpuscles. From about 1800, evidence began to accumulate for a wave theory of light. At about this time Thomas Young showed that, if monochromatic light passes through a pair of slits, the two emerging beams interfere, so that a fringe pattern of alternately bright and dark bands appears on a screen. The bands are readily explained by a wave theory of light. According to the theory, a bright band is produced when the crests (and troughs) of the waves from the two slits arrive together at the screen; a dark band is produced when the crest of one wave arrives at the same time as the trough of the other, and the effects of the two light beams cancel. Beginning in 1815, a series of experiments by Augustin-Jean Fresnel of France and others showed that, when a parallel beam of light passes through a single slit, the emerging beam is no longer parallel but starts to diverge; this phenomenon is known as diffraction. Given the wavelength of the light and the geometry of the apparatus (i.e., the separation and widths of the slits and the distance from the slits to the screen), one can use the wave theory to calculate the expected pattern in each case; the theory agrees precisely with the experimental data.
Britannica Quiz
Quantum mechanics is the science of the behaviour of matter and light on the atomic and subatomic scale. It deals with the properties, interactions, and paradoxes of particles and waves, and has applications in physics, chemistry, and biology.
Quantum is a discrete natural unit of energy, charge, angular momentum, or other physical property. Learn how quantum phenomena apply to light, matter, and submicroscopic systems, and how quantum mechanics explains them.
Aug 16, 2019 · Learn what quantum physics is, how it differs from classical physics, and who developed it. Explore the key concepts, experiments, and applications of quantum mechanics and its branches.
