Quantum mechanics
hideQuantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the submicroscopic scale (at the atomic level). Notable among these principles are simultaneous wave-like and particle-like behavior of matter and radiation ("Wave–particle duality"), and the prediction of probabilities in situations where classical physics predicts certainties. Classical physics can be derived as a good approximation to quantum physics, typically in circumstances with large numbers of particles. Thus quantum phenomena are particularly relevant in systems whose dimensions are close to the atomic scale, such as molecules, atoms, electrons, protons and other subatomic particles. Exceptions exist for certain systems which exhibit quantum mechanical effects on macroscopic scale; superfluidity is one well-known example. Quantum theory provides accurate descriptions for many previously unexplained phenomena such as black body radiation and stable electron orbits. It has also given insight into the workings of many different biological systems, including smell receptors and protein structures.
For more information about Quantum mechanics, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with quantum mechanics
Scientists demonstrate 'universal' programmable quantum processor
Nov 15, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (24) |
11
Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated the first "universal" programmable quantum information processor able to run any program allowed by quantum mechanics -- th ...
Study Shows Time Traveling May Not Increase Computational Power
Oct 22, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (26) |
5
(PhysOrg.com) -- For more than 50 years, physicists have been intrigued by the concept of closed time-like curves (CTCs). Because a CTC returns to its starting point, it raises the possibility of traveling backward in time. ...
Physicist Proposes Solution to Arrow-of-Time Paradox
Aug 27, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (73) |
108
(PhysOrg.com) -- Entropy can decrease, according to a new proposal - but the process would destroy any evidence of its existence, and erase any memory an observer might have of it. It sounds like the plot ...
Quantum Theory May Explain Wishful Thinking
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Apr 14, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (47) |
14
(PhysOrg.com) -- Humans don’t always make the most rational decisions. As studies have shown, even when logic and reasoning point in one direction, sometimes we chose the opposite route, motivated by personal ...
Quantum gas microscope offers glimpse of quirky ultracold atoms
Nov 04, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (19) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists at Harvard University have created a quantum gas microscope that can be used to observe single atoms at temperatures so low the particles follow the rules of quantum mechanics, ...
Quantum Mysticism: Gone but Not Forgotten
Jun 08, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (52) |
43
Does mysticism have a place in quantum mechanics today, or is the idea that the mind plays a role in creating reality best left to philosophical meditations? Harvard historian Juan Miguel Marin argues the ...
Post-Quantum Correlations: Exploring the Limits of Quantum Nonlocality
May 07, 2009 |
4 / 5 (22) |
20
(PhysOrg.com) -- When it comes to nonlocal correlations, some correlations are more nonlocal than others. As the subject of study for several decades, nonlocal correlations (for example, quantum entanglement) ...
A quantum leap forward?
Nov 23, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (6) |
8
The dusty boxes that line the walls of Jeff Barrett's UC Irvine office mark a high point in his academic career. Their contents: pages and pages of notes, most more than 50 years old, penned by late quantum ...
Exerting better control over matter waves
Mar 27, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (29) |
15
(PhysOrg.com) -- “The concept of matter waves is at the heart of quantum mechanics,” Oliver Morsch tells PhysOrg.com. “At the beginning of the last century, scientists discovered that solid particles could exhibit proper ...
3 Questions: Steven Nahn on the elusive Higgs boson
Oct 19, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (39) |
10
(PhysOrg.com) -- Troubles at the Large Hadron Collider have led some physicists to suggest the Higgs boson is sabotaging its own discovery. Nahn explains why he disagrees.
Schrodinger's Cat Experiment Proposed
Sep 24, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (39) |
39
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the classical problems in quantum mechanics concerns a man and his feline companion. The man has placed his cat in an opaque tank and is slowing pumping it full of poison. Now until ...
Physicists working up from atoms to Schrodinger's cat
Jan 28, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (19) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Schrodinger's cat, a macroscopic object that is both alive and dead at the same time, illustrates the strangeness of quantum mechanics. While such quantum properties have been widely observed for electrons ...
Observing the Quantum Hall Effect in 'Real' Space
Jan 12, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (14) |
5
(PhysOrg.com) -- When water transforms into steam, or magnetized iron changes to demagnetized iron, Katsushi Hashimoto explains to PhysOrg.com, a phase transition is taking place: “Classical phase transitions…often share ...
Quantum Computer Chips Now One Step Closer To Reality
Oct 15, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (16) |
0
In the quest for smaller, faster computer chips, researchers are increasingly turning to quantum mechanics -- the exotic physics of the small. The problem: the manufacturing techniques required to make quantum devices have ...
Physicists make discovery in quantum mechanics
Sep 23, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (27) |
49
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) -- Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have made an important advance in quantum mechanics using a superconducting electrical circuit. The finding is reported in this week's issue of the journal Nature.
