Essay about Quantum Mechanics

Submitted By Username2329
Words: 924
Pages: 4
Open Document
Quantum mechanics (QM; also known as quantum physics, or quantum theory) is a fundamental branch of physics which deals with physical phenomena atnanoscopic scales, where the action is on the order of the Planck constant. The name derives from the observation that some physical quantities can change only indiscrete amounts (Latin quanta), and not in a continuous (cf. analog) way. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the quantum realm of atomic andsubatomic length scales. Quantum mechanics provides a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions ofenergy and matter. Quantum mechanics provides a substantially useful framework for many features of the modern periodic table of elements, including the behavior of atoms during chemical bonding, and has played a significant role in the development of many modern technologies.
In advanced topics of quantum mechanics, some of these behaviors are macroscopic (see macroscopic quantum phenomena) and emerge at only extreme (i.e., very low or very high) energies or temperatures (such as in the use of superconducting magnets). In the context of quantum mechanics, the wave–particle duality of energy and matter and the uncertainty principle provide a unified view of the behavior of photons, electrons, and other atomic-scale objects.
The mathematical formulations of quantum mechanics are abstract. A mathematical function, the wave function, provides information about the probability amplitudeof position, momentum, and other physical properties of a particle. Mathematical manipulations of the wave function usually involve bra–ket notation, which requires an understanding of complex numbers and linear functionals. The wavefunction formulation treats the particle as a quantum harmonic oscillator, and the mathematics is akin to that describing acoustic resonance. Many of the results of quantum mechanics are not easily visualized in terms of classical mechanics. For instance, in a quantum mechanical model, the lowest energy state of a system, the ground state, is non-zero as opposed to a more "traditional" ground state with zero kinetic energy (all particles at rest). Instead of a traditional static, unchanging zero energy state, quantum mechanics allows for far more dynamic, chaotic possibilities, according to John Wheeler.
The earliest versions of quantum mechanics were formulated in the first decade of the 20th century. About this time, the atomic theory and the corpuscular theory of light (as updated by Einstein)[1] first came to be widely accepted as scientific fact; these latter theories can be viewed as quantum theories of matter and electromagnetic radiation, respectively. Early quantum theory was significantly reformulated in the mid-1920s by Werner Heisenberg, Max Born and Pascual Jordan (matrix mechanics); Louis de Broglieand Erwin Schrödinger (wave mechanics); and Wolfgang Pauli and Satyendra Nath Bose (statistics of subatomic particles). Moreover, the Copenhagen interpretation of Niels Bohr became widely accepted. By 1930, quantum mechanics had been further unified and formalized by the work of David Hilbert, Paul Dirac and John von Neumann[2] with a greater emphasis placed on measurement in quantum mechanics, the statistical nature of our knowledge of reality, and philosophical speculation about the role of the observer. Quantum mechanics has since permeated throughout many aspects of 20th-century physics and other disciplines including quantum chemistry, quantum electronics,quantum optics, and quantum information science. Much 19th-century physics has been re-evaluated as the "classical limit" of quantum mechanics and its more advanced developments in terms of quantum field theory, string theory, and speculative quantum gravity theories.

History
Scientific inquiry into the wave nature of light began in the 17th and 18th centuries, when scientists such as Robert Hooke,
Show More

Related Documents: Essay about Quantum Mechanics

Essay On Quantum Mechanics

Lecture Highlights #4 Quantum mechanics is a body of scientific principles often regarded as the best choice in fundamentally and universally describing the physical world. The basic framework of this idea differs from that of classical physics. Classical mechanics is completely deterministic. This means that if one was given the exact position and velocity of a particle at a given time, one can calculate the future and past positions and velocities of that particle at any given time. The consequence…

Words 944 - Pages 4

Quantum Mechanics Research Paper

Quantum mechanics (QM – also known as quantum physics, or quantum theory) is a branch of physics which deals with physical phenomena at microscopic scales, where the action is on the order of the Planck constant. Quantum mechanics departs from classical mechanics primarily at the quantum realm of atomic and subatomic length scales. Quantum mechanics provides a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. Quantum mechanics…

Words 589 - Pages 3

Uncertainty Principle and Quantum Mechanics Essays

language for quantum mechanical uncertainties. Prevention is discussed about which name is the most appropriate one in quantum mechanics, we use the name ‘uncertainty principle’ simply because it is the most common one in the literature”.(Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy) “The uncertainty relations have to do with the measurement of these four properties; in particular, they have to do with the precision with which these properties can be measured. Up until the advent of quantum mechanics, everyone…

Words 702 - Pages 3

Quantum Mechanics and Pop Ch Essay

breakthrough in terms of Thomas Kuhn's paradigm shift as articulated in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 3. Discuss the philosophical implications of some aspect of physics such as Newtonian causality, the breakdown of causality in quantum mechanics, the idea of action at a distance, the concept of entropy, the quantization of energy, or the relationship of causality and free will. 4. Discuss how a scientific idea affected the arts, the development of technology, politics, economics or…

Words 793 - Pages 4

Essay about Convergence of Buddhism and Quantum Mechanics

Convergence of Buddhism and Quantum Mechanics Science and religion have always seemed like two polar ends of the knowledge spectrum. Religion is borne from spirituality, in which man tries to find truth within oneself and within a higher power. Science, on the other hand, focuses completely on empirical data; through science, man tries to find truth through observation of the world we live in. If truth were a castle, science builds the castle piece by piece from the foundation, whereas religion…

Words 1476 - Pages 6

Essay on Philosophy: Maxwell ' s Equations and Quantum Mechanics

Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics Quantum Mechanics is something that has been of high interest to me for a large portion of my life. It is mysterious and complicated but somehow works in a way that is comparable to wizardry. Certainly the understanding of this field can be paralleled to the past of explaining natural phenomena using magic and other things now viewed as outlandish. As mentioned personally quantum mechanics has had a serious impact in my own life, not in the sense of it is the foundation…

Words 934 - Pages 4

Essay on Quantum Mechanics and Electron Configuration

allowed, excited, or forbidden Be able to state the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the Aufbau Principle, Hund’s Rule, and Pauli Principle. Be able to identify the type of electron and its orbital (e.g. Is, 4f, etc.) given its quantum address or identify that the quantum address given is forbidden. Be able to identify isoelectric atoms and/or ions. Know and apply the Octet Rule. Be able to predict relative trends and relative sizes: Atomic radii Ionic radii Electron affinity Ionization energy…

Words 966 - Pages 4

Essay Physics Mechanics

Mechanics (Greek Μηχανική) is the branch of science concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment. The scientific discipline has its origins in Ancient Greece with the writings of Aristotle and Archimedes[1][2][3] (see History of classical mechanics and Timeline of classical mechanics). During the early modern period, scientists such as Galileo, Kepler, and especially Newton, laid the foundation…

Words 578 - Pages 3

general theory of relativity Essay

really dive deep into their background and study the physics behind them. Extremely deep theories that scientists such as Hawking have been trying to piece together to better understand are the general theory of relativity, the theory of quantum mechanics, and the quantum theory of gravity. For many years the extremely well known scientist, Albert Einstein put forth the work to develop the general theory of relativity. As stated in Hawking’s book, “This theory put an end to the idea of absolute time…

Words 863 - Pages 4

Essay Wave Particle Duality: Double Split Experiments

Wave Particle Duality Wave particle duality that all particles exhibit both wave and particle properties. A central concept of quantum mechanics, this duality addresses the failure of classical concepts like particle and wave to fully describe the behaviour of quantum-scale objects. The idea of duality originated in a debate over the nature of light and matter that dates back to the 17th century, when Christiaan Huygens and Isaac Newton proposed opposing theories of light, one theory was that…

Words 317 - Pages 2