Quantum Physics
Quantum physics is a science used to study reality on a very small scale. As units get smaller, classical mechanics and classical physics cease working. With quantum physics, scientists can describe what is happening on those very small scales.
Quantum physics studies atomic particles like electrons and protons, and the particles that make up protons: quarks. These tiny particles are described with qualities like flavor, color, and spin. Gluons hold together subatomic particles. But quantum physics isn't limited to dealing with particles. It also considers wave phenomena. Dealing with phenomena that require both wave and particle descriptions is at the very core of quantum physics.
While to the common person, quantum physics seems to be an exercise in science fiction, many modern technological devices operate on a quantum scale – that is, on a scale where quantum effects are significant. Lasers, transistors, electron microscopes, and magnetic resonance imaging have been around for a while. Many more developments today are making use of quantum physics applications, such as quantum computers, which will probably be able to perform computations at a much faster rate than traditional computers. Other applications of quantum physics that sound like science fiction are quantum teleportation, which has actually been achieved on a quantum level, and even invisibility, accomplished by bending light around an object.
According to quantum physics, the foundational principles of the world we see around us is quite surprising; under some interpretations, all possibilities that can be described by quantum theory actually all take place simultaneously in a multiverse, a set of parallel universes. Quantum physics describes a remarkable world that underlays the one we can perceive in everyday life.
Web Resources On Quantum Physics
What is Quantum Physics?
Wave-particle duality
Book Resources On Quantum PhysicsThe Quantum World: Quantum Physics for Everyone by Ford & Hewitt
Quantum Physics: A Beginner’s Guide by Alastair I. M. Rae
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