The Strange and Bizarre Behavior of Electrons! What is Quantum Mechanics?

Are you someone who at the first mention of Quantum Mechanics screams out from the horror of math and numbers? Then this post is for you. I'm here today to try and give a hypoallergenic explanation of Quantum Mechanics, for those with math allergies here on Steemit.

What is Quantum Mechanics?

Quantum Mechanics is a relatively new but now unarguably fundamental branch of study in physics. Although you already maybe be sitting here thinking about what you know about quantum mechanics, an idea that it's some tough mathematics that you could never hope to understand. This is definitely true to a degree, but it’s simpler than you think to grasp it's defining concepts. When it comes down to it, Quantum Mechanics is really just the way we study the relationship of the smallest, practically immeasurable, phenomenon that happens on the nanoscopic scale.

Relationship Between Tiniest Particles

With this said, Quantum Mechanics serves to help us describe some of the most bizarre inexplicable things that happen in our universe. We use Quantum Mechanics to determine how a particle like an electron, some of the smallest particles that circle the nucleus of an atom behave without needing to physically observe or interact with the particle in question. There are tons of different ways that quantum mechanics are involved in modern day applications that you may have never even known such as Computers and CD players which use lasers and semi-conductors, both things we attribute in part to Quantum Mechanics.

Schrodingers Cats

The age old, somewhat paradoxical thought experiment. Performed by Erwin Schrodinger in the 30s it is the best way I can start to explain how Quantum mechanics works and why it is so interesting. In a nutshell the idea is this; if I place a cat in a box with a 50/50% chance of surviving, (made possible through some complex set-up with a flask of poison and radioactive source) at what point is the cat actually dead or alive? That is, if we do not observe the event happening, how can we determine if and when it occured at all? This is one of the fundamental tenants of Quantum Mechanics. Determining and quantify information about a system without interacting with or observing the system at all.

Image Credit

Another observation made from one of the forefathers of Quantum Mechanics, Heisenberg, is his uncertainty principle. One which can be applied to a notion of Wave-Particle duality that had been built over the past decades including the contribution of De Broglie's Wavelength and Einstein Explanations of Photoelectric Effect.

These are all observations and conclusions that are formed and based on the notion that all matter (which we believed once to be solid particles) are able to exhibit characteristics of both particles and waves in unique cases. For this I have linked the video below, to better explain how we've come to this conclusion.

Video: Double Slit Experiment

Cool Video Thanks to Dr Quantum & MayhemMckay 's Youtube

What does this show about particles?

What this highlights first is how truly bizarre and inexplicable our reality really is, and how little we've understood in the past about the true nature of particles and matter. As we saw in the experiment it demonstrates how the mere observation of an experiment can change the outcome.As well it demonstrates how the electron itself can be described as being in many different positions at one point, similar to the cat in Schrodinger's example who is both dead and alive. Only in this cases instead of being dead or alive, the electron passes through 1, both or neither of the slits all at once. It also shows that when we get down to the smallest matter we know, past the cell or the atom to the almost weightless electron we can’t even truly say we understand its interactions or how it works. Rather these particles continue to astound us and act sporadically and indecisively in their environments. It raises questions about the nature of what we consider physical reality, or if this indecisiveness between being a wave or particle on the nanoscopic level can have effects on our large scale technology or biological system.

Edited (This paragraph used to have the dumbest typo)
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