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Quantum Mechanics
 Image from PoorLeno, at English Wikipedia (Public Domain Image) |
Quantum mechanics is a foundational field of physics which describes the behavior of matter and energy at the subatomic scale. The term "quantum" was coined by the Old Earth Industrial Age physicist Max Planck circa 68 BT, and refers to the fact that matter and energy at the subatomic level exist as discrete packages, or "quanta", which govern all particle interactions and physical qualities, such as electric charge, spin, and so on.
The principles of quantum mechanics first began to be discovered by Terragens during the late Industrial Age on Earth (c. 50 BT), when a series of discoveries by baseline human physicists revealed that fundamental particles such as electrons and photons did not fully obey the rules of classical mechanics as described by Newton, Maxwell and other early physicists. One of the key findings during this period was that quantum systems (e.g. particles, atoms and molecules) do not always behave as localized objects, but under certain conditions appear to exist as a diffuse wave-like "superposition" of all possible states known as a wavefunction, which "collapses" to a single state in a probabilistic manner upon interacting with a classical system, such as a measurement device being operated by a sophont observer. This phenomenon is known as "decoherence", and remarkably can apply to systems of causally-associated particles instantaneously and irrespective of distance, with measurement of the properties of one particle at a given location influencing the outcome of a measurement taken of a second particle even when the second particle is located light-years away. Referred to as "quantum entanglement", this property (unfortunately, in the opinion of many sophonts) cannot be used as a basis for faster-than-light communication, as the outcome of a quantum measurement is randomly and probabilistically determined and thus cannot be used to transmit information. However, this has not stopped scammers and con artists throughout history from claiming to have found a workaround for this problem (See: Quantum Ansible).
The discovery of these and other unexpected and counter-intuitive phenomena by Old Earth physicists led to a "quantum revolution" which lasted well into the first century AT, greatly expanding Terragen scientific understanding of the fundamental nature of reality and laying the foundation for numerous technological advances which underlie many of the most ubiquitous technologies found in the Modern Era. Some common examples of devices which utilize quantum principles include lasers, electron microscopes, solar energy-collection cells, quantum computers, programmable quantum-dot arrays (PQDAs), and various forms of transapient-derived technology such as transfer planes, quantum impellers, and Q-mirrors. The unique properties of quantum systems are also leveraged by fields such as quantum cryptography, in which quantum decoherence can be used to reveal eavesdropping on secure communications, among other applications.
It has been hypothesized that several of the most powerful and inexplicable technologies used by the Greater Archailects owe their seemingly-miraculous properties (at least in part) to a more complete understanding of quantum mechanics and its applications than has yet been achieved - or can ever be achieved - by modosophont science.
(Note: for a more complete discussion of the history, principles, and applications of quantum mechanics, please access the Encyclopaedia Galactica's Educational Module on Quantum Mechanics.)
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Development Notes
Text by Andrew P.
Updated 20 January 2025, from an original by M. Alan Kazlev
Initially published on 22 December 2001.
updated July 3, 2025 by Andrew P.
Updated 20 January 2025, from an original by M. Alan Kazlev
Initially published on 22 December 2001.
updated July 3, 2025 by Andrew P.
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Image by PoorLeno from English Wikipedia (Public Domain image)
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