4 weird facts about quantum mechanics

At the microscopic level, in things the size of atoms and particles, Quantum physics dominates in describing the behavior of natureOur smartphones, solar panels, LED lights, MRI machines in hospitals… they all depend directly on the quantum behavior of matter.

This is one of the best-tested and most consistent theories in modern science, and we are exposed to its applications every day.

Compared to what we expect from the behavior of matter described by classical physics (for example, a soccer ball heading for a goal), the properties of subatomic particles are extremely counterintuitive and constantly defy our imagination. But don’t worry, quantum physics isn’t as weird as you think… in fact, it’s even weirder!

Here are 4 strange facts that quantum mechanics holds

1. Everything is made of particles and also waves

In 1906, British physicist J. J. Thomson won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery that electrons are real particles. A little over 30 years later, in 1937, his son George Thomson was awarded the same Nobel Prize in Physics. To prove experimentally that electrons are waves.

So who was right? Both. It’s a property called wave-particle duality, and it’s one of the cornerstones of quantum physics. It applies to both light and electrons. Sometimes it’s worth thinking of light as an electromagnetic wave, but other times it’s more useful to think of it in the form of particles called photons.

2. A particle can be in two places at the same time

A quantum object can be “in two places at once” through a phenomenon called superposition of states. This is not surprising when we think about waves: If you send a wave through a channel that forks, like two tubes, will easily split and flow through both spaces simultaneously.

For example, an electron can be both “here” and “there” at the same time. But when we do an experiment to find out what its location is, it settles into one state or another. This feature is related to the fact that quantum physics is probabilistic, meaning that we can only tell what state an object might be in when we observe it.

This idea is behind the famous Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment, in which a cat finds itself in a closed box and its fate is tied to a quantum device. Since the device exists in both states until the measurement is made, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead until we open the box.

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3. Quantum entanglement

Quantum entanglement is perhaps one of the strangest concepts in all of physics. It’s a complex phenomenon often described as an “invisible” connection between distant quantum objects that allows one to instantly affect the other. Albert Einstein famously rejected this idea, describing it as a form of “spooky action at a distance.””.

When two or more particles are entangled, their states remain bound, no matter how far apart they are in space (even in galaxies billions of light-years away). This means they share a common, unified quantum state.

Thus, observing one of the entangled particles can automatically provide instantaneous information about the other particle. As a result, any effect on one of these particles will always affect the other in the entangled system.

4. It has the potential to show the existence of multiple universes

The most common definition of quantum phenomena is known as the Copenhagen interpretation, in which the observation of a phenomenon forces the “choice” of its quantum outcome.

However, proponents of the Many-Worlds Interpretation argue that at the moment of measurement, reality splits into two (or more) copies of itself: one where outcome A appears, and the other where we see outcome B.

According to this interpretation, regarding quantum particles, reality is composed of countless complex layers and as we approach the larger scales we experience on a daily basis, these layers transform into a variety of possible worlds.