QUANTUMTHEORY

EarlyHistory
Planck'sIntroductionoftheQuantum
Einstein'sContribution
TheBohrAtom
WaveMechanics
MatrixMechanics
TheMeaningofQuantumMechanics
TheUncertaintyPrinciple
ResultsofQuantumTheory
FurtherDevelopments
FutureProspects

QUANTUMTHEORY,alsoquantummechanics,inphysics,atheorybasedonusingthe
conceptofthequantumunittodescribethedynamicpropertiesofsubatomicparticlesand
theinteractionsofmatterandradiation.ThefoundationwaslaidbytheGermanphysicistMax
Planck,whopostulatedin1900thatenergycanbeemittedorabsorbedbymatteronlyin
small,discreteunitscalledquanta.Alsofundamentaltothedevelopmentofquantum
mechanicswastheuncertaintyprinciple,formulatedbytheGermanphysicistWerner
Heisenbergin1927,whichstatesthatthepositionandmomentumofasubatomicparticle
cannotbespecifiedsimultaneously.

EarlyHistory
Inthe18thand19thcenturies,Newtonian,orclassical,mechanicsappearedtoprovidea
whollyaccuratedescriptionofthemotionsofbodiessuchas,forexample,planetarymotion.
Inthelate19thandearly20thcenturies,however,experimentalfindingsraiseddoubtsabout
thecompletenessofNewtoniantheory.Amongthenewerobservationswerethelinesthat
appearinthespectraoflightemittedbyheatedgases,orgasesinwhichelectricdischarges
takeplace.Fromthemodeloftheatomdevelopedintheearly20thcenturybytheEnglish
physicistErnestRutherford,inwhichnegativelychargedelectronscircleapositivenucleusin
orbitsprescribedbyNewton'slawsofmotion,scientistshadalsoexpectedthattheelectrons
wouldemitlightoverabroadfrequencyrange,ratherthaninthenarrowfrequencyranges
thatformthelinesinaspectrum.

Anotherpuzzleforphysicistswasthecoexistenceoftwotheoriesoflight:thecorpuscular
theory,whichexplainslightasastreamofparticles,andthewavetheory,whichviewslight
aselectromagneticwaves.Athirdproblemwastheabsenceofamolecularbasisfor
thermodynamics.InhisbookElementaryPrinciplesinStatisticalMechanics(1902),the
AmericanmathematicalphysicistJ.WillardGibbsconcededtheimpossibilityofframinga
theoryofmolecularactionthatembracedthephenomenaofthermodynamics,radiation,and
electricalphenomenaastheywerethenunderstood.

Planck'sIntroductionoftheQuantum
Attheturnofthecentury,physicistsdidnotyetclearlyrecognizethattheseandother
difficultiesinphysicswereinanywayrelated.Thefirstdevelopmentthatledtothesolutionof
thesedifficultieswasPlanck'sintroductionoftheconceptofthequantum,asaresultof
physicists'studiesofblackbodyradiationduringtheclosingyearsofthe19thcentury.(The
termblackbodyreferstoanidealbodyorsurfacethatabsorbsallradiantenergywithoutany
reflection.)Abodyatamoderatelyhightemperaturea"redheat"givesoffmostofits
radiationinthelowfrequency(redandinfrared)regionsabodyatahighertemperature
"whiteheat"givesoffcomparativelymoreradiationinhigherfrequencies(yellow,green,or
blue).Duringthe1890sphysicistsconducteddetailedquantitativestudiesofthese
phenomenaandexpressedtheirresultsinaseriesofcurvesorgraphs.Theclassical,or
prequantum,theorypredictedanaltogetherdifferentsetofcurvesfromthoseactually
observed.WhatPlanckdidwastodeviseamathematicalformulathatdescribedthecurves
exactlyhethendeducedaphysicalhypothesisthatcouldexplaintheformula.Hishypothesis
wasthatenergyisradiatedonlyinquantaofenergyh,whereisthefrequencyandhisthe
quantumaction,nowknownasPlanck'sconstant.

Einstein'sContribution
ThenextimportantdevelopmentsinquantummechanicsweretheworkofAlbertEinstein.He
usedPlanck'sconceptofthequantumtoexplaincertainpropertiesofthephotoelectriceffect
anexperimentallyobservedphenomenoninwhichelectronsareemittedfrommetalsurfaces
whenradiationfallsonthesesurfaces.

Accordingtoclassicaltheory,theenergy,asmeasuredbythevoltageoftheemitted
electrons,shouldbeproportionaltotheintensityoftheradiation.Actually,however,the
energyoftheelectronswasfoundtobeindependentoftheintensityofradiationwhich
determinedonlythenumberofelectronsemittedandtodependsolelyonthefrequencyof
theradiation.Thehigherthefrequencyoftheincidentradiation,thegreateristheelectron
energybelowacertaincriticalfrequencynoelectronsareemitted.Thesefactswere
explainedbyEinsteinbyassumingthatasinglequantumofradiantenergyejectsasingle
electronfromthemetal.Theenergyofthequantumisproportionaltothefrequency,andso
theenergyoftheelectrondependsonthefrequency.

TheBohrAtom
In1911Rutherfordestablishedtheexistenceoftheatomicnucleus.Heassumed,onthe
basisofexperimentalevidenceobtainedfromthescatteringofalphaparticlesbythenucleiof
goldatoms,thateveryatomconsistsofadense,positivelychargednucleus,surroundedby
negativelychargedelectronsrevolvingaroundthenucleusasplanetsrevolvearoundthesun.
TheclassicalelectromagnetictheorydevelopedbytheBritishphysicistJamesClerkMaxwell
unequivocallypredictedthatanelectronrevolvingaroundanucleuswillcontinuouslyradiate
electromagneticenergyuntilithaslostallitsenergy,andeventuallywillfallintothenucleus.
Thus,accordingtoclassicaltheory,anatom,asdescribedbyRutherford,isunstable.This
difficultyledtheDanishphysicistNielsBohr,in1913,topostulatethatinanatomthe
classicaltheorydoesnothold,andthatelectronsmoveinfixedorbits.Everychangeinorbit
bytheelectroncorrespondstotheabsorptionoremissionofaquantumofradiation.

TheapplicationofBohr'stheorytoatomswithmorethanoneelectronproveddifficult.The
mathematicalequationsforthenextsimplestatom,theheliumatom,weresolvedduringthe
1910sand'20s,buttheresultswerenotentirelyinaccordancewithexperiment.Formore
complexatoms,onlyapproximatesolutionsoftheequationsarepossible,andtheseareonly
partlyconcordantwithobservations.

WaveMechanics
TheFrenchphysicistLouisVictordeBrogliesuggestedin1924thatbecauseelectromagnetic
wavesshowparticlecharacteristics,particlesshould,insomecases,alsoexhibitwave
properties.ThispredictionwasverifiedexperimentallywithinafewyearsbytheAmerican
physicistsClintonJosephDavisson(18811958)andLesterHalbertGermer(18961971)and
theBritishphysicistGeorgePagetThomson.Theyshowedthatabeamofelectronsscattered
byacrystalproducesadiffractionpatterncharacteristicofawave(seeDIFFRACTION).The
waveconceptofaparticleledtheAustrianphysicistErwinSchrdingertodevelopasocalled
waveequationtodescribethewavepropertiesofaparticleand,morespecifically,thewave
behavioroftheelectroninthehydrogenatom.

Althoughthisdifferentialequationwascontinuousandgavesolutionsforallpointsinspace,
thepermissiblesolutionsoftheequationwererestrictedbycertainconditionsexpressedby
mathematicalequationscalledeigenfunctions(Ger.eigen,"own").TheSchrdingerwave
equationthushadonlycertaindiscretesolutionsthesesolutionsweremathematical
expressionsinwhichquantumnumbersappearedasparameters.(Quantumnumbersare
integersdevelopedinparticlephysicstogivethemagnitudesofcertaincharacteristic
quantitiesofparticlesorsystems.)TheSchrdingerequationwassolvedforthehydrogen
atomandgaveconclusionsinsubstantialagreementwithearlierquantumtheory.Moreover,
itwassolublefortheheliumatom,whichearliertheoryhadfailedtoexplainadequately,and
herealsoitwasinagreementwithexperimentalevidence.ThesolutionsoftheSchrdinger
equationalsoindicatedthatnotwoelectronscouldhavethesamefourquantumnumbers
thatis,beinthesameenergystate.Thisrule,whichhadalreadybeenestablishedempirically
byWolfgangPauliin1925,iscalledtheexclusionprinciple.

MatrixMechanics
Simultaneouslywiththedevelopmentofwavemechanics,Heisenbergevolvedadifferent
mathematicalanalysisknownasmatrixmechanics.AccordingtoHeisenberg'stheory,which
wasdevelopedincollaborationwiththeGermanphysicistsMaxBornandErnstPascual
Jordan(190280),theformulawasnotadifferentialequationbutamatrix:anarrayconsisting
ofaninfinitenumberofrows,eachrowconsistingofaninfinitenumberofquantities.Matrix
mechanicsintroducedinfinitematricestorepresentthepositionandmomentumofan
electroninsideanatom.Also,differentmatricesexist,oneforeachobservablephysical
propertyassociatedwiththemotionofanelectron,suchasenergy,position,momentum,and
angularmomentum.Thesematrices,likeSchrdinger'sdifferentialequations,couldbe
solvedinotherwords,theycouldbemanipulatedtoproducepredictionsastothe
frequenciesofthelinesinthehydrogenspectrumandotherobservablequantities.Likewave
mechanics,matrixmechanicswasinagreementwiththeearlierquantumtheoryfor
processesinwhichtheearlierquantumtheoryagreedwithexperimentitwasalsousefulin
explainingphenomenathatearlierquantumtheorycouldnotexplain.

TheMeaningofQuantumMechanics
Schrdingersubsequentlysucceededinshowingthatwavemechanicsandmatrixmechanics
aredifferentmathematicalversionsofthesametheory,nowcalledquantummechanics.
Evenforthesimplehydrogenatom,whichconsistsoftwoparticles,bothmathematical
interpretationsareextremelycomplex.Thenextsimplestatom,helium,hasthreeparticles,
andevenintherelativelysimplemathematicsofclassicaldynamics,thethreebodyproblem
(thatofdescribingthemutualinteractionsofthreeseparatebodies)isnotentirelysoluble.
Theenergylevelscanbecalculatedaccurately,however,evenifnotexactly.Inapplying
quantummechanicsmathematicstorelativelycomplexsituations,aphysicistcanuseoneof
anumberofmathematicalformulations.Thechoicedependsontheconvenienceofthe
formulationforobtainingsuitableapproximatesolutions.

Althoughquantummechanicsdescribestheatompurelyintermsofmathematical
interpretationsofobservedphenomena,aroughverbaldescriptioncanbegivenofwhatthe
atomisnowthoughttobelike.Surroundingthenucleusisaseriesofstationarywavesthese
waveshavecrestsatcertainpoints,eachcompletestandingwaverepresentinganorbit.The
absolutesquareoftheamplitudeofthewaveatanypointisameasureoftheprobabilitythat
anelectronwillbefoundatthatpointatanygiventime.Thus,anelectroncannolongerbe
saidtobeatanyprecisepointatanygiventime.

TheUncertaintyPrinciple
TheimpossibilityofpinpointinganelectronatanyprecisetimewasanalyzedbyWerner
Heisenberg,whoin1927formulatedtheuncertaintyprinciple.Thisprinciplestatesthe
impossibilityofsimultaneouslyspecifyingtheprecisepositionandmomentumofanyparticle.
Inotherwords,physicistscannotmeasurethepositionofaparticle,forexample,without
causingadisturbanceinthevelocityofthatparticle.Knowledgeaboutpositionandvelocity
aresaidtobecomplementary,thatis,theycannotbepreciseatthesametime.Thisprinciple
isalsofundamentaltotheunderstandingofquantummechanicsasitisgenerallyaccepted
today:Thewaveandparticlecharacterofelectromagneticradiationcanbeunderstoodas
twocomplementarypropertiesofradiation.

ResultsofQuantumTheory
Quantummechanicssolvedallofthegreatdifficultiesthattroubledphysicistsintheearly
yearsofthe20thcentury.Itgraduallyenhancedtheunderstandingofthestructureofmatter,
anditprovidedatheoreticalbasisfortheunderstandingofatomicstructure(seeATOMAND
ATOMICTHEORY)andthephenomenonofspectrallines:Eachspectrallinecorrespondstothe
energyofaphotontransmittedorabsorbedwhenanelectronmakesatransitionfromone
energyleveltoanother.Theunderstandingofchemicalbondingwasfundamentally
transformedbyquantummechanicsandcametobebasedonSchrdinger'swaveequations.
Newfieldsinphysicsemergedsolidstatephysics,condensedmatterphysics,
superconductivity,nuclearphysics,andelementaryparticlephysics(seePHYSICS)thatall
foundaconsistentbasisinquantummechanics.

FurtherDevelopments
Intheyearssince1925,nofundamentaldeficiencieshavebeenfoundinquantum
mechanics,althoughthequestionofwhetherthetheoryshouldbeacceptedascompletehas
comeunderdiscussion.Inthe1930stheapplicationofquantummechanicsandspecial
relativitytothetheoryoftheelectron(seeQUANTUMELECTRODYNAMICS)allowedtheBritish
physicistPaulDiractoformulateanequationthatreferredtotheexistenceofthespinofthe
electron.Itfurtherledtothepredictionoftheexistenceofthepositron,whichwas
experimentallyverifiedbytheAmericanphysicistCarlDavidAnderson.

Theapplicationofquantummechanicstothesubjectofelectromagneticradiationledto
explanationsofmanyphenomena,suchasbremsstrahlung(Ger.,"brakingradiation,"the
radiationemittedbyelectronssloweddowninmatter)andpairproduction(theformationofa
positronandanelectronwhenelectromagneticenergyinteractswithmatter).Italsoledtoa
graveproblem,however,calledthedivergencedifficulty:Certainparameters,suchastheso
calledbaremassandbarechargeofelectrons,appeartobeinfiniteinDirac'sequations.
(Thetermsbaremassandbarechargerefertohypotheticalelectronsthatdonotinteractwith
anymatterorradiationinreality,electronsinteractwiththeirownelectricfield.)Thisdifficulty
waspartlyresolvedin194749inaprogramcalledrenormalization,developedbythe
JapanesephysicistShin'ichiroTomonaga(190679),theAmericanphysicistsJulianS.
Schwinger(1918)andRichardFeynman,andtheBritishphysicistFreemanDyson
(1923).Inthisprogram,thebaremassandchargeoftheelectronarechosentobeinfinite
insuchawaythatotherinfinitephysicalquantitiesarecanceledoutintheequations.
Renormalizationgreatlyincreasedtheaccuracywithwhichthestructureofatomscouldbe
calculatedfromfirstprinciples.

FutureProspects
Quantummechanicsunderliescurrentattemptstoaccountforthestrongnuclearforce(see
QUANTUMCHROMODYNAMICS)andtodevelopaunifiedtheoryforallthefundamental
interactionsofmatter(seePHYSICS:ModernPhysics:UnifiedFieldTheories).Nevertheless,
doubtsexistaboutthecompletenessofquantumtheory.Thedivergencedifficulty,for
example,isonlypartlyresolved.JustasNewtonianmechanicswaseventuallyamendedby
quantummechanicsandrelativity,manyscientistsandEinsteinwasamongthemare
convincedthatquantumtheorywillalsoundergoprofoundchangesinthefuture.Great
theoreticaldifficultiesexist,forexample,betweenquantummechanicsandchaostheory,
whichbegantodeveloprapidlyinthe1980s.Ongoingeffortsarebeingmadebytheorists
suchastheBritishphysicistStephenHawkingtodevelopasystemthatencompassesboth
relativityandquantummechanics.G.G.

Forfurtherinformationonthistopic,seetheBibliography,sectionQuantumphysics.