What is quantum?

Quantum is the most basic unit of all physical worlds.

Quantum is an important concept in modern physics and the most basic unit that constitutes the material world. Quantum is different from all kinds of elementary particles. Strictly speaking, quantum is not a real particle, but a "concept". Quantum refers to the basic unit of all "physical quantities" When a physical quantity is too small to be indivisible, it is quantized, and the smallest unit is quantum.

Quantum was first proposed by German physicist M Planck in 1900. Planck thinks that the radiation energy in blackbody radiation is discontinuous and can only be an integer multiple of the basic energy unit, which explains the experimental phenomenon of blackbody radiation well. Later research shows that not only energy shows this discontinuous separation property, but also other physical quantities such as angular momentum, spin and charge show this discontinuous quantification phenomenon.

The origin of quantum

/kloc-In the late 20th century, scientists found that many physical phenomena could not be explained by classical theories. At that time, German physics circles focused on blackbody radiation. Around 1900, M Planck tried to solve the problem of blackbody radiation. He boldly put forward the quantum hypothesis and obtained Planck's radiation law, which is still in use today.

Planck put forward that "quantum" is the smallest unit of energy, just as atoms are the constituent units of all substances. The absorption or emission of electromagnetic radiation by an object can only be carried out in the form of energy quantum. Planck first published the quantized value of energy, the value of a molecular mole and elementary charge at the meeting of the German Physical Society on February 1900+04. Its numerical value is more accurate than before, and the proposed theory successfully solves the problem of blackbody radiation, marking the birth of quantum mechanics.

Reference to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Quantum