quantum
Sign in to saveIn physics, a quantum (: quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization". This means that the magnitude of the physical property can take on only discrete values consisting of integer multiples of one quantum. For example, a photon is a single quantum of light of a specific frequency (or of any other form of electromagnetic radiation). Similarly, the energy of an electron bound within an atom is quantized and can exist only in certain
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A quantum is the smallest, indivisible unit of a physical property—like energy or light—that can actually exist in the real world. This matters because it means certain physical properties can't be arbitrarily small or take any value; instead, they can only come in specific, discrete amounts (whole number multiples of that basic unit).
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- Origin
- Quantization
- See also
- References
- Further reading
In physics, a quantum (: quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization". This means that the magnitude of the physical property can take on only discrete values consisting of integer multiples of one quantum. For example, a photon is a single quantum of light of a specific frequency (or of any other form of electromagnetic radiation). Similarly, the energy of an electron bound within an atom is quantized and can exist only in certain discrete values. Atoms and matter in general are stable because electrons can exist only at discrete energy levels within an atom. Quantization is one of the foundations of the much broader physics of quantum mechanics. Quantization of energy and its influence on how energy and matter interact (quantum electrodynamics) is part of the fundamental framework for understanding and describing nature.
==Origin== thumb|upright=1|German physicist and 1918 Nobel Prize for Physics recipient [[Max Planck (1858–1947)]] The modern concept of the quantum in physics originates from December 14, 1900, when Max Planck reported his findings to the German Physical Society. He showed that modelling harmonic oscillators with discrete energy levels resolved a longstanding problem in the theory of blackbody radiation. In his report, Planck did not use the term quantum in the modern sense. Instead, he used the term to refer to the "quantum of electricity", now known as the elementary charge. For the smallest unit of energy, he employed the term , "energy element", rather than calling it a quantum.