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The study of subatomic particles, atoms and molecules, and their structure and interactions, requires quantum mechanics. Analyzing processes that change the numbers and types of particles requires quantum field theory. The study of subatomic particles per se is called particle physics.
The subatomic scale is the domain of physical size that encompasses objects smaller than an atom.It is the scale at which the atomic constituents, such as the nucleus containing protons and neutrons, and the electrons in their orbitals, become apparent.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths shorter than 10 −30 m (1 qm). 1.6 × 10 −5 quectometers (1.6 × 10 −35 meters) – the Planck length (Measures of distance shorter than this do not make physical sense, according to current theories of physics .)
Atoms are the smallest neutral particles into which matter can be divided by chemical reactions. An atom consists of a small, heavy nucleus surrounded by a relatively large, light cloud of electrons. An atomic nucleus consists of 1 or more protons and 0 or more neutrons. Protons and neutrons are, in turn, made of quarks.
Negative muons can form muonic atoms (previously called mu-mesic atoms), by replacing an electron in ordinary atoms. Muonic hydrogen atoms are much smaller than typical hydrogen atoms because the much larger mass of the muon gives it a much more localized ground-state wavefunction than is observed for the electron. In multi-electron atoms, when ...
Rather than existing as a 1 or a 0 like a bit, qubits can exist as a 1 and 0 or any combination of the two at the same time, thanks to what is called superposition.
Neutrons are made up of one up and two down quarks, while protons are made of two up and one down quark. Since the other common elementary particles (such as electrons, neutrinos, or weak bosons) are so light or so rare when compared to atomic nuclei, we can neglect their mass contribution to the observable universe's total mass.
On the much smaller scale of atoms and molecules, classical mechanics may fail, and the interactions of particles are then described by quantum mechanics. Near the absolute minimum of temperature , the Bose–Einstein condensate exhibits effects on macroscopic scale that demand description by quantum mechanics.