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| interaction of subatomic particles; inherent in this study is the concept that one can never know precisely where one particle is at any one time. |
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| the ejection of electrons from the surface of a metal plate when visible light falls on it. (in Brian Greene's book, the analogy is of the children trapped in a dungeon, if that jogs your memory) |
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| The minimum unit of energy involved in an interaction. |
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| The number, discrete with an integer or half-integer value, that describes the energies of electrons in atoms, and often angular momentum, spin |
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| This is the bending of waves when they encounter an obstacle. when you shoot electrons at an area, it creates a wave of electrons. This shows the wave-particle duality. |
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| Principle that subatomic particles possess some wavelike characteristics, and that electromagnetic waves, such as light, possess some particlelike characteristics |
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| Energy particle with zero rest mass, no electric charge.Move at the speed of light. They are the carriers of the electromagnetic field. |
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| Lie between gamma rays and ultraviolet radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum. |
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| emitted from excited atomic nuclei as an integral part of the process whereb the nuclear rearranges itself into a state of lower excitation |
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| A wave of matter...(??), also called a de Broglie wave |
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| Smart dude, founder of quantum theory |
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| lanck discovered the energy is discrete (finite, not continuous), exists only in integer multiples of some base value, the planck constant. "h-bar" |
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| about 10^20 times smaller than the diameter of a proton (REALLY tiny). Anything smaller than this is completely unknown - the fabric of space-time is 'frothy'. |
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| another smarty-pants. Proposed wave-particle duality |
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| The wavelength of any particle is inversely proportional to the momentum of a particle |
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| uncertainty principle (we can never be sure where an electron is at any one point in time because the very act of observing it will cause it to change position). Fun fact: this guy helped Germany in its nuclear bomb research in WW2. |
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| The creator of the wave equation for quantum mechanics. We must use probability to determine where electrons are. |
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| A thought experiment that demonstrates the problem of quantum theory when moving from the microscopic to the macroscopic. Here goes: A cat is in a sealed box with some radiation, a geiger counter and a tube of cyanide. Once the geiger counter notices some radiation, the tube of cyanide explodes, killing the cat. However - it is equally likely that the radioactive material will not decay in the given time. Quantum theory states that these two outcomes (emitting radiation or not emitting radiation) are in a superposition (that is, both are happening). Thus, because radiation is both being emitted and not being emitted, we have an half-dead, half-alive cat. This is a paradox that is meant to illustrate how crazy quantum theory is. |
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| It is related to the likelihood of the particle being at a given point in space at a given time, and may be thought of as an expression for the amplitude of the particle wave |
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| the random character of all physical processes that occur at sub-atomic scales and are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. probability theory is required to describe nature, |
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| wo or more objects in which the quantum states of the constituting objects are linked together so that one object can no longer be adequately described without full mention of its counterpart—even if the individual objects are spatially separated in a spacelike manner |
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| Computer that works using quanta and quarks instead of binary codes (a lot faster but only in theoretical stages) |
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| emerging technology that incorporates the spin of an electron and its associated magnetic momentum; can be used in semiconductors. |
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| particle's ability to penetrate energy barriers within electronic structures. |
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