Quantum

:For the article about the manufacturer of computer peripherals, see Quantum Corporation.

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The word quantum, pl. "quanta", comes from the Latin "quantus", for "how much". In general, it refers to an "amount of something". But, the term is often used in the more specific sense which it has in physics, where a quantum refers to an indivisible, and perhaps elementary entity. For instance, a "light quantum", being a unit of light (that is, a photon). In combinations like "quantum mechanics", "quantum optics", etc., it distinguishes a more specialized field of study.

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Behind this, one finds the fundamental notion that a physical property may be "quantized", referred to as "quantization". This means that the magnitude can take on only certain numerical values, rather than any value, at least within a range. For example, the energy of an electron bound to an atom (at rest) is quantized. This accounts for the stability of atoms, and matter in general.

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An entirely new conceptual framework was developed around this idea, during the first half of the 1900s. Usually referred to as quantum "mechanics", it is regarded by virtually every professional physicist as the most fundamental framework we have for understanding and describing nature, for the very practical reason that it works. It is "in the nature of things", not a more or less arbitrary human preference.

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Latin: Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. The ...

Physics: Physics (from the Greek, φυσικός (phusikos), "natural", and φύσις (phusis), "nature") is the science of the natural world in the broadest sense, dealing with matter and energy and the fundamental forces of nature that govern the interaction...

Light quantum: REDIRECT photon...

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