Portal:Physics/Selected article/May 2010

Introduction to Quantum mechanics is a simpified version of Quantum mechanics. It describes Quantum mechanics as the set of scientific principles describing the behavior of energy and matter on the atomic and subatomatic scale. Much like the universe on the large and very vast scale (i.e., general relativity), so the universe on the small scale (i.e., quantum mechanics) does not neatly conform to the rules of classical physics. As such, it presents a set of rules that is counterintuitive and difficult to understand for the human mind, as humans are accustomed to the world on a scale dominated by classical physics. In other words, quantum mechanics deals with "Nature as She is—absurd."

Many elementary parts of the universe, such as photons (discrete units of light) have some behaviours which resemble a particle but other behaviours that resemble a wave. The energies carried by photons form a discontinuous and colour coded series. The energies, the colours, and the spectral intensities of electromagnetic radiation produced are all interconnected by laws. But the same laws ordain that the more closely one pins down one measure (such as the position of a particle) the more wildly another measure relating to the same thing (such as momentum) must fluctuate.

Around the turn of the twentieth century, it became clear that classical physics was unable to explain several phenomena. Understanding these limitations of classical physics led to a revolution in physics: the development of quantum mechanics in the early decades of the last century.
 * For the rest of the article see: Introduction to Quantum mechanics

Physicist Biography: Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman (May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics (he proposed the parton model). For his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman, jointly with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965. He developed a widely used pictorial representation scheme for the mathematical expressions governing the behavior of subatomic particles, which later became known as Feynman diagrams. During his lifetime, Feynman became one of the best-known scientists in the world.

He assisted in the development of the atomic bomb and was a member of the panel that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. In addition to his work in theoretical physics, Feynman has been credited with pioneering the field of quantum computing, and introducing the concept of nanotechnology. He held the Richard Chace Tolman professorship in theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology.

Feynman was a keen popularizer of physics through both books and lectures, notably a 1959 talk on top-down nanotechnology called There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom and The Feynman Lectures on Physics. Feynman also became known through his semi-autobiographical books (Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think?) and books written about him, such as Tuva or Bust!

He was regarded as an eccentric and free spirit. He studied Maya hieroglyphs, was a prankster, juggler, safecracker, bongo player, and a proud amateur painter.

Feynman also had a deep interest in biology, and was a friend of the geneticist and microbiologist Esther Lederberg, who developed replica plating and discovered bacteriophage lambda. They had several mutual physicist friends who, after beginning their careers in nuclear research, moved for moral reasons into genetics, among them Leó Szilárd, Guido Pontecorvo, and Aaron Novick.