quantum mechanics

n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)

1. Quantum theory, especially the quantum theory of the structure and behavior of atoms and molecules.

quantum mechanical adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

quantum mechanics

(Atomic Physics) (functioning as singular) the branch of mechanics, based on the quantum theory used for interpreting the behaviour of elementary particles and atoms, which do not obey Newtonian mechanics

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

quan′tum mechan′ics

(used with a sing. v.) a quantum theory of the mechanics of atoms, molecules, and other physical systems subject to the uncertainty principle.

[1920–25]

quan′tum-me•chan′i•cal, adj.

quantum mechanics

See quantum theory.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

quantum mechanics

A system of mechanics that supplanted Newtonian mechanics in the study of subatomic particles.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

quantum mechanics - the branch of quantum physics that accounts for matter at the atomic level; an extension of statistical mechanics based on quantum theory (especially the Pauli exclusion principle)

quantum physics - the branch of physics based on quantum theory

wave mechanics - the modern form of quantum theory; an extension of quantum mechanics based on Schrodinger's equation; atomic events are explained as interactions between particle waves

Translations

kvantová mechanika

Quantenmechanik

κβαντομηχανική

kvanttimekaniikka

mécanique quantique

kvantna mehanika

meccanica quantisticameccanica quantica

mechanika kwantowa

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References in periodicals archive

But when we try to push our understanding back to within minutes of the Big Bang--when the universe was unfathomably hot and dense and matter existed only as subatomic particles--we encounter a problem: Einstein's theory of gravity and the quantum theory of matter and energy come into conflict because of their incompatible explanations of the origin of gravitational attraction.

Einstein forever? A century after Albert Einstein's "miraculous year," physics and astronomy are ripe for revolution

It is difficult to see how this theory of science can account for the success of the conceptual apparatus of the quantum theory of matter, a theory whose basic concepts are notoriously at odds with current successful technological dealings with the world.

Hand's End: Technology and the Limits of Nature