What’s quantum mechanics?

by times news cr

2024-06-15 15:24:16

Positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons make up the nucleus of an atom. Neutrons are impartial, don’t have any cost, however are a really unstable particle that may decay into protons, electrons, and neutrinos. A neutrino is a perfect impartial particle: it has no cost and little or no mass, which is why it’s mentioned to don’t have any mass in any respect.

Additionally, the electron has a really small mass, its mass is me ≈ 9,09 * 10-31, it has a unfavourable cost. And the positron is the antiparticle of the electron, which has a constructive cost.

Quarks are basic particles, from which all strongly interacting elementary particles (for instance, protons) are shaped, they’re divided into three sorts, and should not discovered free – solely when forming elementary particles. A photon is a particle of sunshine, or quantum of sunshine, that has no cost and might solely exist by transferring on the velocity of sunshine. The talked about quanta should not some type of separate particle, however they’re essential in quantum mechanics: a quantum is an indivisible quantity of vitality – for instance, a photon is a quantum of sunshine. This idea was developed into the speculation of quantum mechanics.

The quantum was found by the well-known scientist Max Planck – whereas making an attempt to know why heated metal doesn’t turn into invisible. In classical physics on the time, it was believed that as metal was heated increasingly more, it might emit increasingly more vitality by means of the sunshine, thus altering its spectrum till its gentle grew to become ultraviolet, which is invisible – however this was not the case, the metal remained seen on a regular basis.

For a number of years, Mr. Planck tried to show this phenomenon by way of classical physics, however he didn’t discover a solution – due to this, he started to say that gentle shouldn’t be emitted always, however by particular person particles, i.e. quanta. From this principle he developed the method: E = hv, the place E is vitality, v is frequency, and oh is named Planck’s fixed, which he derived understanding E and v. Later, this method and principle have been proved by experimental physicists – they usually even precisely calculated the worth of Planck’s fixed.

Throughout the assembly of German physicists on December 14, 1900, M. Planck offered his principle – this present day is unofficially referred to as the birthday of quantum mechanics and the start of a brand new period in physics. Danish physicist Niels Bohr tried to elucidate the steadiness of the atom utilizing the thought of ​​quantization. His instructor Ernest Rutherford’s – or the planetary mannequin of the atom – had objections, as a result of in response to the legal guidelines of physics identified on the time, electrons transferring in such a trajectory with acceleration ought to emit electromagnetic waves, radiating them, the electrons would shortly lose vitality and fall on the nucleus – however this doesn’t occur.

N. Bohr, making use of the method created by M. Planck, created two postulates: 1. The atom doesn’t radiate vitality in a stationary state, 2. The atom radiates vitality solely when altering its state – that’s, when an electron strikes from one layer to a different, at the moment the atom emits a quantum . Utilizing his discovery and experimentation, he derived Blamer’s method, which describes the wavelengths of the spectral traces of the hydrogen atom. However N. Bohr’s mannequin and method have been additionally not correct: in non-hydrogen atoms, experiments didn’t match the speculation, so analysis on this space continued.

After all, these should not all his discoveries – for instance, he created an interpretation of Copenhagen along with Werner Heisenberg (which we are going to speak about a bit later) and even briefly managed to take part within the Manhattan Mission.

W. Heisenberg is among the pioneers of quantum mechanics, in 1925 after publishing his “Quantum Theoretical Interpretation of Kinematic and Mechanical Relations”. Whereas recovering within the hospital, it occurred to him that the contradictions in N. Bhor’s mannequin of the atom have been as a result of using portions that had by no means been noticed in experiments. Therefore, it’s unknown whether or not these portions will be noticed in any respect. Since it’s unattainable to look at the trajectory of the electron’s motion, the researcher urged as an alternative of the earlier makes an attempt to find out the trajectory, to hypothetically reformulate the speculation utilizing portions that we will observe throughout experiments, as is finished in astronomy.

One of many portions noticed was the frequency of photons emitted when an electron passes from one layer to a different – understanding the frequency, the frequency will be transformed right into a trajectory utilizing the Fourier remodel in arithmetic. Additional growing the speculation and utilizing Fourier sequence, W. Heisenberg derived formulation for addition and multiplication for objects with two indices. When he observed that the regularity of the portions within the multiplication method had that means – that’s, x * y shouldn’t be equal to y * x, the scientist was stunned. This characteristic has turn into one of many basic variations between quantum and classical physics.

When W. Heisenberg printed this principle, the stage of New Quantum Physics started. As one physicist put it, “that is the second when Heisenberg discovered the little monitor that led out of the darkness into the sunshine of a brand new physics.” Solely later this a part of physics started to be formally referred to as Quantum Mechanics.

As well as, W. Heisenberg formulated the Uncertainty Precept, which states that having two properties of a quantum object, the extra exactly we all know one in all its properties, the extra exactly we all know the opposite. For instance, if we {photograph} a fast-moving object with an extended publicity, we will see that the item is transferring quick – however we won’t be able to inform the place it’s. But when we take a photograph with a brief publicity, we will simply decide the place it’s, however we is not going to discover the velocity of its motion.

The aforementioned physicists have had a big impact on quantum physics, however the two most outstanding physicists on this area are Erwin Schrödinger and Albert Einstein. E. Schrödinger in 1926 printed his work during which the actions that happen within the atom have been described in a classical method. This was mandatory as a result of the well-known physicists of the time used such mathematical and bodily operations on this area that just a few mathematicians and some physicists might perceive.

E. Schrödinger’s concepts had nice help among the many previous physicists, but in addition sturdy opposition among the many new physicists. The well-known Schrödinger method was talked about on this paper. He later got here up along with his mannequin of the atom and a well-known experiment with the so-called (hypothetical) Schrödinger’s cat, which explains superposition and quantum immortality.

A. Einstein distinguished himself in quantum physics by explaining the photoelectric impact – for this he obtained the Nobel Prize, on the similar time he supplemented M. Planck’s principle. After all, I’ve not but talked about many well-known names who contributed to quantum physics, akin to: Wolfgang Pauli, Paul Dirac, Ernest Jordan, Max Born, Arnold Sommerfeld and others.

The already talked about Copenhagen interpretation, created by N. Bohr and W. Heisenberg – its concept lies in the truth that quantum mechanics is random, and objects have pairs of sure properties that can’t be measured or noticed concurrently. Furthermore, observing or measuring an object is an irreversible course of, and no different fact will be attributed to the item than the results of the measurement.

What does this imply? To know this, we first want to know what quantum superposition is. It is a state the place a particle in quantum physics has two values ​​on the similar time. Think about a e-book mendacity on a desk – however in quantum mechanics, whether it is in superposition, it might probably lie on the desk and on the mattress on the similar time.

If the Copenhagen interpretation is to be believed, when measuring or observing a e-book (statement is finished solely with measuring units, and the human eye shouldn’t be such a tool), we measure that the e-book is on the desk, and by measuring it we select one in all its states – on this case, that it’s on the desk. desk By the way in which, this is among the largest difficulties in learning quantum physics – as a result of after we observe it with devoted units, we alter the quantum world itself.

Within the multiworld interpretation, developed by scientist Hugh Everett, every of the attainable potentialities happens in one other world created on the time—that’s, when making an attempt to measure or observe a quantum physique, every attainable final result merely happens in several worlds. Returning to the instance of the e-book – if the multiworld interpretation is to be believed, on the time after we attempt to measure the place of the e-book, two worlds will seem, and in a single the e-book will lie on the desk, within the different – on the mattress. However we solely get one possibility after we measure it – and we will not show or disprove this principle. It’s on the precept of this interpretation that quantum immortality works.

Not too long ago, quantum physics has been primarily studied in particle accelerators, and probably the most notable discovery is the experimentally extracted Higgs boson. This science can be being developed in Lithuania: the Lithuanian Affiliation of Quantum Applied sciences was lately established. After all, you might ask: if quantum mechanics is being studied a lot, what helpful discoveries has this science led to? If we single out atomic vitality, the looks of which was additionally decided by quantum physics, we will additionally point out telephone or different electrical machine screens, triodes, transistors, lasers, digital microscopes, the reminiscence {of electrical} home equipment, and now makes an attempt are additionally being made to create a quantum laptop.

In conclusion, I’ve solely scratched the floor of quantum physics on this essay – and I have not even touched it very a lot. I attempted to current details which can be attention-grabbing not solely to me, but in addition to the reader. On this essay I intention to curiosity the reader – and naturally. the data right here is simplified and summarized in order that any individual with at the very least a faculty training can perceive and maybe have an interest within the topic. I invite readers to suppose critically, verify sources, and do their very own analysis and understanding of the subject – however on the similar time, I hope you discovered it attention-grabbing, and possibly discovered one thing new or jogged my memory of one thing previous.

Sources:

The writer of the textual content is a scholar of the primary (ninth) grade of Vilnius Mykolos Biržiška Gymnasium.

2024-06-15 15:24:16

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