THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICS
GE
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Y When Ma x Planck sug gested that light wa s made up of
particles, he completely overturned classical physicsUNDERSTANDING
QUANTUM PHYSICS
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tricky subject. But Dr John Gribbin is here to reveal why
quantum physics is relevant to all our lives
QWhat is quantum physics for?
A
Quantum physics may seem like
a pretty esoteric topic with no
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from the case. Quantum physics is the
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among many other things. The
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physics. Quantum physics is the
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more basic than that!QWave, particle or both?
A
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terms of the wave equations of James
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are particles. They interact with one
another – as when an electrically
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waves – but they always retain their
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changes happen continuously.
Quantum physics overturns all of
that. The first clue that something
other than classical physics wasPGGFGFECOGYJGP/CZ2NCPEMHQWPF
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behaving as a wave. Then it was
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if t hey were waves. Wave-particle
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the heart of quantum physics.QDoes quantum theory rule?
A
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whole story of the split between
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as you make allowance for all the
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you can calculate everything that will
ever happen to it. This applies to all
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