Introduction to quantum mechanics: Max Planck (simple version)

Usually, when we hear of so-called quantum physics, it is common for an image of strangeness to be attached to it, often challenging our perception of everything around us. But what would be the reason for such an exotic fame of quantum theory? We will discuss the behavior of this different universe throughout this and other articles.

The "birth" of quantum theory, often called quantum mechanics by the most intimate, was given to physicist Max Planck in 1900/1901. At the time, the scientist was working on a way to solve a disturbing problem in physics, the problem of ultraviolet catastrophe, which indicated that the theoretical field of science still had gaps.

Max Planck's solution: The German physicist proposed the quantization of energy at the beginning of the twentieth century, which means that energy values ​​are not arbitrary but quantified in "energy packets" called quanta. Planck then formulated his famous equation, simple and elegant:

E = hf

Where f is the frequency and h is Planck's famous constant, abundantly used throughout quantum theory. The value of the constant is approximately 6,626 × 〖10〗 ^ (- 34) J ∙ s in the SI.

With Planck's theory, we see the famous wave-particle duality (in certain cases the light shows an undulatory behavior and in other corpuscular) which was also present in the explanation of the photoelectric effect, a phenomenon that guaranteed Einstein his Nobel Prize.

At the end of his work with the radiation of bodies, Planck ended up creating a totally new theoretical field in science, quantum mechanics. As time went on, several scientists entered this area of ​​study and gained prominence, as Erwin Schrödinger, with his famous mental experiment "cat of Schrödinger".

Quantum mechanics is essentially probabilistic, but its probability is not analogous to what we are accustomed to in our perceptions. When throwing a dice, we can calculate how likely it will fall with a particular face up; However, at the heart of the question, the outcome of which face of the dice will be exposed is not probabilistic but deterministic. If we consider multiple variables, such as air resistance, aerodynamics of the dice, the way it was released, among other things, we will have a precise answer about the result that the dice will give us. Quantum is probabilistic in itself, and not due to our lack of information of the system considered (as in our analogy).

Nowadays, quantum mechanics is indispensable in our routines, even though sometimes we do not realize it; if today you have a cell phone, computer, or any electronic equipment thank the scientists of the twentieth century!

In future articles I will explore some of the quantum bizarrices, such as the fact that we can not know the position and velocity of a particle at the same time, which is called the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

Reference Material: "A Brief History in Time" and "Brief Answers to Big Questions" (Stephen Hawking's books)