Quantum Mechanics

Quantum Mechanics is a branch of physics that seeks to understand the behavior of matter and energy at the smallest levels. It is the science of how very small particles like atoms and particles of light (photons) move and interact. A fun fact about quantum mechanics is that there are particles that exist in many places at once, something that seems impossible but is true. To help you understand this, you could think of a particle like a person. In quantum mechanics, the person could be in many different places at the same time, like the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom. To understand quantum mechanics better, it helps to think about the behavior of atoms. Atoms are incredibly small, much too small to see. However, even though we can’t see them, we know that atoms are made up of even tinier particles called protons, neutrons and electrons. The behavior of these tiny particles is governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. For example, quantum mechanics says that electrons don’t move in a straight line, but instead they move in an unpredictable pattern called a wave. And two particles that are far apart can still interact with each other, in a process called entanglement. These strange behaviors of tiny particles have been confirmed by scientists in laboratories around the world. So, even though quantum mechanics is hard to understand, it is still accepted as a valid branch of physics.