Quantum mechanics is a branch of physics explaining how tiny things, like particles, can act like particles and waves. This is called “wave-particle duality.”
Particles can be tiny units called “quanta.” For example, a photon is a quantum of light. These particles can only have certain energy levels, unlike larger objects that can have any energy level.
At the same time, these tiny particles can also act like waves, constantly changing. Scientists use a “wave function” to describe the probability of a particle being in a certain place at a certain time.
Quantum mechanics differs greatly from the classical mechanics that describe our everyday world. It helped scientists understand things that classical mechanics couldn’t explain, like why atoms behave the way they do and how light works.
This new understanding led to many modern technologies, such as lasers, LEDs, transistors, medical imaging devices, and electron microscopes. Your smartphone, for instance, relies on quantum mechanics to function.
The Department of Energy’s Office of Science supports research in quantum mechanics, including quantum computing and information science. They fund and operate facilities like the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System, Brookhaven’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, and the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility at Jefferson Lab, which study tiny particles controlled by quantum mechanics.
– Subatomic particles, like protons, have a property called “spin” used in MRI imaging.
– Smartphones have billions of transistors that work because of quantum mechanics.
– Quantum computers and networks use quantum properties to store and transfer information.
– DOE Office of Science, Nuclear Physics Program
– DOE Office of Science, High Energy Physics Program
– ATLAS at Argonne National Laboratory
– RHIC at Brookhaven National Laboratory
– Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
– FRIB at Michigan State University
– Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility at Jefferson Lab
– DOE’s National Quantum Information Science Research Centers
Quantum mechanics can be complex, but the DOE Explains program offers easy-to-understand definitions and explanations of key concepts in fundamental science.
