Research that led to the development of quantum mechanics began in the mid-19th century. It started out as a simple question about why hot objects glowed different colors. This became a field of research investigating “black body” radiation. He focused on the study of light and the final conclusions drawn were that the frequency of the emitted light depended on temperature and that higher frequency waves carried more energy. This study eventually branched out into the field of spectroscopy and the analysis of the color spectrum that different elements emit when heated.

From these early investigations, Boyle and Hooke were able to develop the laws of thermodynamics in the late 17th century. By the mid-19th century, physicists knew that the accelerated motion of molecules produced heat and that, at absolute zero temperature, the motion of molecules stopped. Also at that time, Michael Faraday had experimentally established the theories of electrodynamics and these were mathematically substantiated by James Clerk Maxwell.

The mystery that most baffled physicists at the time was how to unite the theories of thermodynamics (heat), electrodynamics (light), and the new mechanics (matter). Johann Jakob Balmer found at least a partial and more intriguing piece of this puzzle when he devised a formula that worked in a limited range. Later, Max Planck developed a formula that worked on all ranges, but there was a problem. It only worked if the radiation was discontinuous. In other words, the radiation had to come in tiny, discreet packages that he called quanta. And there was another problem. At the time, electromagnetic radiation was thought to travel only in waves.

Shortly after, Einstein published a paper on the photoelectric effect in which he described light traveling in discrete particles, just as Planck had indicated. Each light quantum, or discrete packet, carried a specific amount of energy, known as a quantum. Today we know this as a single photon particle. In essence, Planck showed that energy was emitted in packets, and Einstein showed that energy was absorbed in the same way. The work of Planck and Einstein established the particle idea of ​​light. Thus began the modern debate about the wave/particle nature of light that continues to this day. Einstein later showed a preference for Schrödinger wave mechanics, but most physicists today still favor the particle nature simply because so much applied science can be derived from it.

This initial combination of discoveries also finally brought thermodynamics, electrodynamics, and mechanics together. Theories of mechanics deal with ponderable matter, so the new theories of quantum mechanics deal primarily with how light and matter interact.

Later, the physicist Niels Bohr applied the latest quantum theories and found that the energy of the electrons combined with the frequency of their orbits equaled Planck’s constant. From this he surmised that electrons jump from one energy state to another discontinuously. In other words, they go from one orbit to another without there being any intermediate point. This became known as a quantum leap.

Today the word quantum is popularly associated with anything that accesses or belongs to an invisible realm of subatomic particles that acts as a single entity and cooperates with our intentions. Considering the vast difference in the original and popular definitions, it seems that the same word has taken a quantum leap in meaning.

Perhaps the word “quantum” has been confused with the actions of special systems of quantum levels such as the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). In this case, a gas is cooled to near absolute zero and the atoms reach their lowest energy state, also known as their lowest potential quantum state. At that point, the system exhibits quantum effects, meaning that the atoms no longer act individually. They begin to act as a single unit.

The empty parts of outer space are at temperatures close to zero. This is commonly known as the Zero Point Field in cosmology. In general, the zero point field (ZPF) is the reference energy of a system when that system is near a temperature of absolute zero. Without this reference energy, the system could not exist in manifested space. The ZPF should be responsible for investigating when these systems because at the quantum level, the energy cannot be completely still.

Physicist David Boehm claimed that the quantum realm is not a real place. It is a set of equations that map or describe a process just below the threshold of everyday matter. Some popular references to the quantum realm describe it as being a real place or thing, even if it is invisible.

What does the word quantum mean to you? Do you think that devices that have the word quantum in their name or description really analyze something different than other biofeedback type devices? Do you think quantum has become an overused buzzword just to sell stuff?