Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The word quantum is the neuter singular of the Latin interrogative adjective quantus, meaning "how much"."Quanta", the neuter plural, short for "quanta of electricity" (electrons), was used in a 1902 article on the photoelectric effect by Philipp Lenard, who credited Hermann von Helmholtz for using the word in the area of electricity.
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory that describes the behavior of nature at and below the scale of atoms. [2]: 1.1 It is the foundation of all quantum physics, which includes quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science. Quantum mechanics can describe many systems that classical physics cannot.
Quantum mechanics is the study of matter and its interactions with energy on the scale of atomic and subatomic particles. By contrast, classical physics explains matter and energy only on a scale familiar to human experience, including the behavior of astronomical bodies such as the moon.
In quantum mechanics, energy is defined in terms of the energy operator, acting on the wave function of the system as a consequence of time translation symmetry. Definition [ edit ]
Zero-point energy (ZPE) is the lowest possible energy that a quantum mechanical system may have. Unlike in classical mechanics, quantum systems constantly fluctuate in their lowest energy state as described by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. [1] Therefore, even at absolute zero, atoms and molecules retain some vibrational motion.
The Planck relation [1] [2] [3] (referred to as Planck's energy–frequency relation, [4] the Planck–Einstein relation, [5] Planck equation, [6] and Planck formula, [7] though the latter might also refer to Planck's law [8] [9]) is a fundamental equation in quantum mechanics which states that the energy E of a photon, known as photon energy, is proportional to its frequency ν: =.
A quantum version of an adiabatic process can be modeled by an externally controlled time dependent Hamiltonian (). If the system is isolated, the dynamics are unitary, and therefore, is a constant. A quantum adiabatic process is defined by the energy entropy being constant.
In quantum mechanics, the Hamiltonian of a system is an operator corresponding to the total energy of that system, including both kinetic energy and potential energy.Its spectrum, the system's energy spectrum or its set of energy eigenvalues, is the set of possible outcomes obtainable from a measurement of the system's total energy.