Introductory quantum mechanics, special relativity, and atomic physics concepts for a college modern physics course. Front: the term or concept. Back: a plain-language definition.
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- Photon
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A discrete packet of electromagnetic energy, the smallest unit of light, behaving as a particle.- Planck's constant
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A fundamental constant of nature (6.63 x 10^-34 J·s) that relates the energy of a photon to its frequency (E = hf).- Wave-particle duality
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The principle that all matter and energy exhibit both wave-like and particle-like properties depending on how they are observed.- Photoelectric effect
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The emission of electrons from a material when light of sufficient frequency strikes it.- Quantum superposition
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The state in which a quantum system exists in multiple possible states simultaneously until it is measured or observed.- Uncertainty principle
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The principle that certain pairs of physical properties (like position and momentum) cannot be simultaneously known to arbitrary precision.- Wave function
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A mathematical function that describes the quantum state of a particle and contains all information about that particle's system.- Quantum tunneling
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The phenomenon where a particle passes through a potential energy barrier that, according to classical physics, it should not be able to overcome.- Quantization
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The requirement that certain physical quantities (such as energy) take on only discrete, allowed values rather than any continuous value.- Energy levels
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The discrete allowed energies that an electron can have while bound to an atom, corresponding to specific orbital shells.- Bohr model
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An early model of the hydrogen atom in which electrons orbit the nucleus in fixed circular orbits with specific allowed radii and energies.- De Broglie wavelength
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The wavelength associated with a moving particle, calculated as Planck's constant divided by the particle's momentum (wavelength = h/p).- Ground state
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The lowest energy state of a quantum system, in which an electron in an atom has minimum energy.- Excited state
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An energy state of a quantum system higher than the ground state, reached when energy is added to the system.- Orbital
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A region in an atom where an electron is likely to be found, representing a solution to the Schrodinger equation for that atom.
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