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Quantum mechanics (QM; also known as quantum physics, quantum theory, the wave mechanical model and matrix mechanics), part of quantum field theory, is a fundamental theory in physics. It describes physical properties of nature on an atomic scale. Classical physics, the description of physics that existed before the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics, describes many aspects of nature at an ordinary (macroscopic) scale, while quantum mechanics explains the aspects of nature at small (atomic and subatomic) scales, for which classical mechanics is insufficient. Most theories in classical physics can be derived from quantum mechanics as an approximation valid at large (macroscopic) scale. Quantum mechanics differs from classical physics in that energy, momentum, angular momentum, and other quantities of a bound system are restricted to discrete values (quantization), objects have 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 which 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. Early quantum theory was profoundly re-conceived in the mid-1920s by Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born and others. The modern theory is formulated in various specially developed mathematical formalisms. In one of them, a mathematical function, the wave function, provides information about the probability amplitude of energy, momentum, and other physical properties of a particle.

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Quantum mechanics (QM; also known as quantum physics, quantum theory, the wave mechanical model and matrix mechanics), part of quantum field theory, is a fundamental theory in physics. It describes physical properties of nature on an atomic scale. Classical physics, the description of physics that existed before the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics, describes many aspects of nature at an ordinary (macroscopic) scale, while quantum mechanics explains the aspects of nature at small (atomic and subatomic) scales, for which classical mechanics is insufficient. Most theories in classical physics can be derived from quantum mechanics as an approximation valid at large (macroscopic) scale. Quantum mechanics differs from classical physics in that energy, momentum, angular momentum, and other quantities of a bound system are restricted to discrete values (quantization), objects have 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 which 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. Early quantum theory was profoundly re-conceived in the mid-1920s by Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born and others. The modern theory is formulated in various specially developed mathematical formalisms. In one of them, a mathematical function, the wave function, provides information about the probability amplitude of energy, momentum, and other physical properties of a particle.
Quantum mechanics is a complex and mysterious field of physics that deals with the behavior of matter and energy on an atomic and subatomic scale. Think of it like a microscope: classical physics explains the behavior of objects at a macroscopic scale, like a table or a chair, but quantum mechanics is needed to explain the behavior of the tiny particles that make up those objects. To give you an example of the kind of behavior quantum mechanics deals with, consider the wave-particle duality. This is the phenomenon that states that particles of matter and energy can behave like both a wave and a particle at the same time. For example, a photon (a particle of light) can behave like a wave when it passes through a slit and forms an interference pattern on a screen. But if you measure its position, it will behave like a particle. Another example of the strange behavior of matter and energy on the quantum scale is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. This states that you can never measure both the position and momentum of a particle with absolute accuracy. The more accurately you measure one of these properties, the less accurately you can measure the other. As a fun fact, you may have heard of Schrödinger’s cat. This is a thought experiment proposed by the physicist Erwin Schrödinger to illustrate the strange behavior of quantum particles. In the experiment, a cat is placed in a sealed box with a device that has the potential to kill the cat. According to the rules of quantum mechanics, the cat is both alive and dead until the box is opened and the state of the cat is observed. Quantum mechanics is an incredibly complex and mysterious field of physics, but it has also produced amazing insights into the behavior of matter and energy on an atomic scale.