Quantum Mechanics

Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics that attempts to describe the universe on an extremely small scale. Quantum field theory describes elementary particles as having a wave-particle duality. This duality states that elementary particles exhibit both the properties of waves and the properties of particles. Particles can be described as objects that have physical properties such as mass and momentum. Waves are how energy moves through a medium and have properties such as wavelength and frequency. Quantum field theory deals in probabilities as opposed to general relativity in which the result of experiments can be precisely predicted. In quantum field theory the result of an experiment cannot be precisely determined because the act of observing the particles in the experiment changes the result of the experiment. Physicist can only predict the probable outcome of an experiment. This is the basis of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle which states that you cannot know at any point in time the exact position and velocity of a particle. The more you know about the position of a particle the less you can know about its velocity and vice versa. Einstein was deeply troubled by the uncertainty principle and the probabilities of quantum field theory. This prompted Einstein to say that “God does not play dice.” In the last years of his life he tried to disprove quantum field theory, but failed to do so.