Quantum world. Cookies on the New Scientist website close Our website uses cookies, which are small text files that are widely used in order to make websites work more effectively. To continue using our website and consent to the use of cookies, click away from this box or click 'Close' Find out about our cookies and how to change them Log in Your login is case sensitive I have forgotten my password close My New Scientist Look for Science Jobs Quantum world Introduction: Quantum world Quantum physics is mind-bending, but it is also one of the most successful scientific theories ever put forward. Proto quantum computer inspired by Victorians gets a speed boost DAILY NEWS: 19:00 17 April 2015 A new approach has sped up a quantum device that exploits collisions between particles, signalling that the method may have yet more mileage in it Quantum purity: How the big picture banishes weirdness FEATURE: 20:00 08 April 2015 Nobody really understands the quantum world.
Key to quantum gravity may lurk in cosmic haze. Todd's Quantum Intro. Intro to Quantum Mechanics This page is intended to give an ordinary person a brief overview of the importance and wonder of quantum mechanics. Unfortunately, most people believe you need the mind of Einstein in order to understand QM so they give up on it entirely. (Interesting side note: Einstein didn't believe QM was a correct theory!) Even some chemists fall into that category-- to represent physical chemistry our departmental T-shirts have a picture of the below atom, which is almost a century out of date. <Sigh> So please read on, and take a dip in an ocean of information that I find completely invigorating!
If the above picture is your idea of an atom, with electrons looping around the nucleus, you are about 70 years out of date. What is quantum mechanics? Simply put, quantum mechanics is the study of matter and radiation at an atomic level. Why was quantum mechanics developed? If classical physics is wrong, why do we still use it? What is the importance of quantum mechanics? The Dual Nature of Light as Reflected in the Nobel Archives. By Gösta Ekspong* The research leading to an understanding of the nature of light and the emission and absorption processes has been of paramount importance. It led from a beginning in 1900 to the development of quantum physics, reaching a high peak in the 1920s and a fruition towards the mid-century years with the completion of the very successful Quantum ElectroDynamic (QED) theory.
The manner in which these achievements have been treated by the Nobel Committee for Physics is both interesting and in some cases surprising. The Wave-Particle Duality A particle on the classical view is a concentration of energy and other properties in space and time, whereas a wave is spread out over a larger region of space and time. Newton's theory of light had seemed suitable to explain the straight-line casting of sharp shadows of objects placed in a light beam. The Nobel Prizes for X-rays The discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen in 1895 was honoured by the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. Level Physics Quantum Physics Revision. Quantum Mechanics. As of July 1, 2013 ThinkQuest has been discontinued. We would like to thank everyone for being a part of the ThinkQuest global community: Students - For your limitless creativity and innovation, which inspires us all. Teachers - For your passion in guiding students on their quest. Partners - For your unwavering support and evangelism.
Parents - For supporting the use of technology not only as an instrument of learning, but as a means of creating knowledge. We encourage everyone to continue to “Think, Create and Collaborate,” unleashing the power of technology to teach, share, and inspire. Best wishes, The Oracle Education Foundation. Wavelike Behaviors of Light. An age-old debate that has persisted among scientists is related to the question, "Is light a wave or a stream of particles? " Very noteworthy and distinguished physicists have taken up each side of the argument, providing a wealth of evidence for each side.
The fact is that light exhibits behaviors that are characteristic of both waves and particles. In this unit of The Physics Classroom Tutorial, the focus will be on the wavelike nature of light. Light exhibits certain behaviors that are characteristic of any wave and would be difficult to explain with a purely particle-view. Light reflects in the same manner that any wave would reflect. A wave doesn't just stop when it reaches the end of the medium. Reflection of Light Waves All waves are known to undergo reflection or the bouncing off of an obstacle.
Accustomed to the fact that light waves also undergo reflection. Refraction of Light Waves All waves are known to undergo refraction when they pass from one medium to another medium.