What is Quantum Physics?
Quantum Physics is a branch of PHYSICS that deals with the very small.
The results of the study of the quantum may appear to have some extraordinary conclusions about the existence of the physical world.
At a scale of atoms and electrons, many classical mechanics equations, describe how things exist and move in standard sizes and speed, cease to be valid.
In basic mechanics or mechanical physics, an object exists in a specific plane at a specific time.
In quantum mechanics, objects exist in a haze of shifting probabilities and have a certain chance of being at point A and one more chance of being at B point, and so on.
Revolutionary Principles of Quantum Physics
Quantum Mechanics (QM) was developed over several decades.
At the early stages, quantum mechanics was a set of controversial mathematical explanations of experiments for which classical mechanics maths was not able to explain the right value.
At the time Albert Einstein published his theory of relativity, a state of mathematical revolution in physics that started in the 20th century that described the motion of things that had speed at a higher level.
As compared to relativity, the origin of quantum mechanics cannot be given credit to any specific physicist or scientist. Instead, several scientists contribute their time and devotion to the foundation of the three revolutionary principles which gradually started gaining acceptance and experimental verification in the years 1900 to 1930.
These three revolutionary principles are:
Quantized Properties
Specific properties like position, speed, or color can occur in specific, set amounts similar to a dial that moves from number to number.
This idea challenged a fundamental belief of classical mechanics, which stated that such properties should not exist on a smooth and continuous spectrum.
Particles of Light
Light sometimes, under certain circumstances, behaves like particles.
The idea of light particles was initially met with several criticisms as it ran against the 200 years of experimentation that showed that light behaved as a wave.
Light behaves similar to ripples on a surface of a lake as it bends around corners and bounces off walls.
Moreover, the crests and troughs of the wave can add up or cancel out, much similar to the properties of light.
The whole idea was accepted after the term "photon" was popularized, and the work of Arthur Compton, 1923, showed that light scattered with an electron beam could change color.
The experiment showed that the particles of light collide with the particles of matter, proving that light can behave as a particle and as waves depending on the circumstances.
Waves of Matter
Thirty years of vigorous experimentation finally proved that matter such as electrons exist as particles.
The whole experimentation was countered by the fact that matter can also behave as waves.