Quantum Mechanics Explained in Ridiculously Simple Words

Quantum physics deals with the foundation of our world – the electrons in an atom, the protons inside the nucleus, the quarks that build those protons, and the photons that we perceive as light. These constitute everything that we are made of, both matter and energy. But how is it any different from regular physics? The 'regular' physics is the physics that deals with Newton’s laws of motion and its related mechanics. This is more formally called Classical Physics.

This is the physics of our day-to-day lives—the rolling of balls, the rotation of the earth, and the mechanics of engines. Quantum physics deals with particles that are incredibly small and hence, the laws of classical physics don’t apply in this world. In this video, we discuss the meaning of quantum physics and how is it going to change how we perceive the world around us.

#quantumphysics #quantummechanics #quantumworld

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[Celestiallearn]

I'll provide brief explanations for each of the 100 topics in quantum physics:

1. Wave-particle duality: Dual nature of matter and energy, where they exhibit both wave-like and particle-like behaviors.
2. Quantum superposition: State of a system being in multiple states simultaneously until measured.
3. Quantum entanglement: Phenomenon where particles become correlated in such a way that the state of one instantaneously affects the state of the other, regardless of distance.
4. Uncertainty principle: Principle formulated by Heisenberg stating that the more precisely the position of a particle is known, the less precisely its momentum can be known, and vice versa.
5. Schrödinger equation: Fundamental equation of quantum mechanics describing how the wavefunction of a physical system evolves over time.
6. Quantum tunneling: Phenomenon where particles penetrate through a potential energy barrier that they classically shouldn't be able to overcome.
7. Quantum interference: Effect where waves combine to either reinforce or cancel each other out.
8. Quantum decoherence: Process by which quantum systems interact with their environment, leading to the loss of coherence and the emergence of classical behavior.
9. Quantum teleportation: Transfer of quantum information from one location to another without physical movement of the information carrier.
10. Quantum cryptography: Use of quantum mechanical properties to perform cryptographic tasks such as secure communication.
11. Quantum computing: Use of quantum-mechanical phenomena to perform operations on data, potentially enabling much faster computation than classical computers.
12. Bell's theorem: Theoretical result stating that certain quantum predictions cannot be reproduced by any theory based on classical realism.
13. EPR paradox: Thought experiment proposed by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen to highlight what they saw as the incompleteness of quantum mechanics.
14. Quantum measurement problem: Philosophical issue in quantum mechanics concerning the nature of wavefunction collapse upon measurement.
15. Quantum non-locality: Property of quantum mechanics where particles can be correlated in ways that cannot be explained by classical physics.
16. Quantum information theory: Study of the properties and processing of information in quantum systems.
17. Quantum entanglement swapping: Process where the entanglement between two particles is transferred to two other particles, even if they never directly interacted.
18. Quantum key distribution: Method for secure communication based on the principles of quantum mechanics.
19. Quantum teleportation protocol: Step-by-step procedure for transferring the quantum state of one particle to another distant particle.
20. Quantum error correction: Techniques for protecting quantum information from errors introduced by noise and other disturbances.
21. Quantum gates: Basic building blocks of quantum circuits, analogous to classical logic gates.
22. Quantum algorithms: Algorithms designed to run on quantum computers, potentially offering exponential speedup over classical algorithms.
23. Quantum annealing: Optimization technique that leverages quantum effects to find the global minimum of a given objective function.
24. Quantum entanglement distillation: Process of purifying an entangled state to increase its fidelity and usefulness for quantum communication.
25. Quantum teleportation network: Network of quantum devices interconnected by teleportation links for quantum communication.
26. Quantum communication: Communication using quantum systems, often leveraging properties like entanglement and superposition for security and efficiency.
27. Quantum supremacy: Demonstration of a quantum computer outperforming the most powerful classical computers for a specific task.
28. Quantum phase transitions: Transitions between different phases of matter driven by quantum fluctuations rather than thermal energy.
29. Quantum walk: Quantum-mechanical analog of classical random walks, with applications in quantum algorithms and simulations.
30. Quantum field theory: Framework combining quantum mechanics and special relativity to describe fundamental particles and their interactions.
31. Second quantization: Formalism for quantizing systems with an infinite number of particles, commonly used in quantum field theory.
32. Quantum electrodynamics (QED): Quantum field theory describing the interactions between electromagnetic fields and charged particles.
33. Quantum chromodynamics (QCD): Quantum field theory describing the strong force that binds quarks together to form hadrons.
34. Standard Model of particle physics: Theory describing the electromagnetic, weak, and strong nuclear interactions, as well as the Higgs mechanism.
35. Quantum gravity: Theoretical framework aiming to reconcile general relativity and quantum mechanics to describe gravitational interactions at a fundamental level.
36. String theory: Theoretical framework attempting to unify all fundamental forces and particles by modeling them as one-dimensional "strings."
37. M-theory: Extension of string theory that includes 11 dimensions and various types of extended objects beyond strings.
38. Loop quantum gravity: Approach to quantum gravity that quantizes space-time using techniques from loop quantum mechanics.
39. AdS/CFT correspondence: Duality between a theory of gravity in anti-de Sitter space and a conformal field theory on its boundary.
40. Quantum black holes: Hypothetical black holes whose properties are described using both quantum mechanics and general relativity.
41. Quantum cosmology: Application of quantum mechanics to the study of the origin, evolution, and structure of the universe.
42. Quantum foam: Hypothetical structure of space-time at extremely small scales, where quantum fluctuations cause it to fluctuate wildly.
43. Quantum spin: Intrinsic angular momentum of elementary particles, which can take discrete values.
44. Quantum spin Hall effect: Topological phenomenon where an insulating material conducts electricity along its edges due to quantum spin properties.
45. Quantum Hall effect: Phenomenon where the Hall resistance of a two-dimensional electron gas exhibits quantized plateaus in the presence of a magnetic field.
46. Fractional quantum Hall effect: Quantum Hall effect observed at low temperatures and strong magnetic fields, where the Hall resistance exhibits fractional plateaus.
47. Quantum dot: Nanoscale semiconductor structure that confines charge carriers in all three dimensions, exhibiting quantum mechanical properties.
48. Quantum well: Thin semiconductor layer that confines charge carriers in one dimension, creating discrete energy levels.
49. Quantum wire: Nanoscale semiconductor structure that confines charge carriers in two dimensions, facilitating quantum transport phenomena.
50. Quantum point contact: Narrow constriction in a conducting material that exhibits quantized conductance due to quantum mechanical effects.
51. Quantum ring: Nanoscale semiconductor structure that forms a closed loop, allowing the confinement and manipulation of charge carriers.
52. Quantum cascade laser: Semiconductor laser based on quantum mechanical principles, typically used for mid-infrared spectroscopy and sensing.
53. Quantum entanglement in condensed matter systems: Generation and manipulation of entangled states in solid-state materials for quantum information processing.
54. Quantum dots in nanotechnology: Use of quantum dots for various nanotechnological applications, such as sensors, displays, and biomedical imaging.
55. Quantum phase transitions in condensed matter systems: Transitions between different phases of matter driven by quantum fluctuations at low temperatures.
56. Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC): State of matter where a dilute gas of bosons coalesces into the same quantum state at extremely low temperatures.
57. Degenerate Fermi gas: Gas of fermions at low temperatures, where the Pauli exclusion principle forces them into higher energy states.
58. Ultracold atoms: Atoms cooled to temperatures near absolute zero, allowing the observation of quantum phenomena such as BEC and quantum gases.
59. Rydberg atoms: Atoms in highly excited electronic states, exhibiting exaggerated quantum behavior and long-range interactions.
60. Spintronics: Field of research exploring the manipulation of electron spin in solid-state devices for information processing and storage.
61. Quantum

[freshgino]

Just finished the video! So what exactly is quantum mechanics?

[Nothing-bzio]

The animation and sound effects were so good, I forgot to understand.

[ChoobChoob]

"“If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics.”
So i'm in a superposition of both knowing and not knowing Quantum Mechanics?

[Robert]

I tried to make a joke to a group of scientifically literate friends. I brought up the subject of Schrodinger cat. Then I said, "Being sealed in a box with a tin of poison is not a superposition to be in." Nobody got it.

[fasmallville]

Loved the video and the explanation using "real" examples! Great job, Scott!

[Knesquik]

As an instructor, I would never use fake concepts like superhero movies to explain a real world concept like quantum mechanics

[missmerrily]

I really need this level of explanation of Quantum Physics. Much more and I glaze over. But isn't it the most mind-blowing thought that Gautama Buddha, alive 500 years before Christ, perfectly understood that there is no permanent 'me' or anything else. And observed it without any equipment or experiments.

[vincenzofumarola]

Hi science ABC. Could you do a video on Loop quantum gravity. Other youtubers explain in a very complicated way, but maybe your explanation might be better

[theremnant]

Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that describes the behavior of nature at and below the scale of atoms.[2]: 1.1  It is the foundation of all quantum physics, which includes quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science.

Quantum mechanics can describe many systems that classical physics cannot. Classical physics can describe many aspects of nature at an ordinary (macroscopic and (optical) microscopic) scale, but is not sufficient for describing them at very small submicroscopic (atomic and subatomic) scales. Most theories in classical physics can be derived from quantum mechanics as an approximation valid at large (macroscopic/microscopic) scale.[3]

Quantum systems have bound states that are quantized to discrete values of energy, momentum, angular momentum, and other quantities, in contrast to classical systems where these quantities can be measured continuously. Measurements of quantum systems show characteristics of both particles and waves (wave–particle duality), and there are limits to how accurately the value of a physical quantity can be predicted prior to its measurement, given a complete set of initial conditions (the uncertainty principle).

Quantum mechanics arose gradually from theories to explain observations that could not be reconciled with classical physics, such as Max Planck's solution in 1900 to the black-body radiation problem, and the correspondence between energy and frequency in Albert Einstein's 1905 paper, which explained the photoelectric effect. These early attempts to understand microscopic phenomena, now known as the "old quantum theory", led to the full development of quantum mechanics in the mid-1920s by Niels Bohr, Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, Paul Dirac and others. The modern theory is formulated in various specially developed mathematical formalisms. In one of them, a mathematical entity called the wave function provides information, in the form of probability amplitudes, about what measurements of a particle's energy, momentum, and other physical properties may yield.

Overview and fundamental concepts
Quantum mechanics allows the calculation of properties and behaviour of physical systems. It is typically applied to microscopic systems: molecules, atoms and sub-atomic particles. It has been demonstrated to hold for complex molecules with thousands of atoms, [4] but its application to human beings raises philosophical problems, such as Wigner's friend, and its application to the universe as a whole remains speculative.[5] Predictions of quantum mechanics have been verified experimentally to an extremely high degree of accuracy. For example, the refinement of quantum mechanics for the interaction of light and matter, known as quantum electrodynamics (QED), has been shown to agree with experiment to within 1 part in 1012 when predicting the magnetic properties of an electron.[6]

A fundamental feature of the theory is that it usually cannot predict with certainty what will happen, but only give probabilities. Mathematically, a probability is found by taking the square of the absolute value of a complex number, known as a probability amplitude. This is known as the Born rule, named after physicist Max Born. For example, a quantum particle like an electron can be described by a wave function, which associates to each point in space a probability amplitude. Applying the Born rule to these amplitudes gives a probability density function for the position that the electron will be found to have when an experiment is performed to measure it. This is the best the theory can do; it cannot say for certain where the electron will be found. The Schrödinger equation relates the collection of probability amplitudes that pertain to one moment of time to the collection of probability amplitudes that pertain to another.[7]: 67–87 

One consequence of the mathematical rules of quantum mechanics is a tradeoff in predictability between different measurable quantities. The most famous form of this uncertainty principle says that no matter how a quantum particle is prepared or how carefully experiments upon it are arranged, it is impossible to have a precise prediction for a measurement of its position and also at the same time for a measurement of its momentum.[7]: 427–435 

Another consequence of the mathematical rules of quantum mechanics is the phenomenon of quantum interference, which is often illustrated with the double-slit experiment. In the basic version of this experiment, a coherent light source, such as a laser beam, illuminates a plate pierced by two parallel slits, and the light passing through the slits is observed on a screen behind the The wave nature of light causes the light waves passing through the two slits to interfere, producing bright and dark bands on the screen – a result that would not be expected if light consisted of classical particles.[8] However, the light is always found to be absorbed at the screen at discrete points, as individual particles rather than waves; the interference pattern appears via the varying density of these particle hits on the screen. Furthermore, versions of the experiment that include detectors at the slits find that each detected photon passes through one slit (as would a classical particle), and not through both slits (as would a wave).[8]: 109 [9][10] However, such experiments demonstrate that particles do not form the interference pattern if one detects which slit they pass through. This behavior is known as wave–particle duality. In addition to light, electrons, atoms, and molecules are all found to exhibit the same dual behavior when fired towards a double slit.[2]

Another non-classical phenomenon predicted by quantum mechanics is quantum tunnelling: a particle that goes up against a potential barrier can cross it, even if its kinetic energy is smaller than the maximum of the potential.[11] In classical mechanics this particle would be trapped. Quantum tunnelling has several important consequences, enabling radioactive decay, nuclear fusion in stars, and applications such as scanning tunnelling microscopy, tunnel diode and tunnel field-effect transistor.[12][13]

[sammosoaker]

This video explained both everything and nothing

[andrewmarcellus]

Would love a video explaining quarks. Keep the content coming!!

[JustSueMe]

Schrödinger's thought experiment wasn't meant to explain quantum superposition. It was meant as a criticism of the Copenhagen interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. A cat being both alive and dead at the same time is bogus, right? Well, yeah, that's what Schrödinger was getting at. He was basically saying that the Copenhagen interpretation leads to absurd conclusions when applied to everyday objects.

[thedivinityofart]

I loved the pictures and animations used while explaining

[Webedunn]

Particles seem to be aware of what’s going on. They can travel back in time to change an outcome. The double slit experiment is truly bizarre.

[naveedsegments]

Thanks buddy. Love you. Continue to encourage beings ...towards my Quantum mechanics😊

[tejasgudi]

Hey the content is good but can you please stop the irrelevant animations and texts on the screen, it is very distracting.

[smaug.the.stupendous]

Finaly I understand that I will never understand quantum mechanics.

[ronnymartin]

Any chance on getting a video on the Pauli exclusion principle if it is possible to attempt to simplify it lol😮

[naixa]

Quantum physics is the probability of an electron existing in a certain state. Lets say an electron is currently existing in one corner of a room. So, all the probabilities of the electron existing in other corners or possible direction in the future is quantum mechanics (simplified)