Why everyone can and should learn quantum mechanics

(Salon) Perhaps no other area of physics has enjoyed as much attention from scientists and non-scientists as quantum mechanics. The fame of quantum mechanics theories stands in juxtaposition to the physical weirdness" they manifest even some of the scientists who discovered these theories were set aback by the startling consequences. Its no wonder Einstein remarked The more success the quantum theory has the sillier it looks." But as silly" as it may seem the physical implications of quantum mechanics are real and not nearly as complicated nor inaccessible as they might seem. Energy Comes in Chunks We are all familiar with the way the burner of an electric stove goes from being faint red to flaming bright red as the temperature rises. If we could increase the temperature even higher we would eventually see the burner shifting from its reddish glow to more of a bluish hue. In essence what we are observing is a very specific relationship between the temperature of a hot object (e.g. stove burner) and the light (thermal radiation) it gives off: as the temperature increases the light emitted from the burner shifts to a higher frequency. And although our eyes only see a particular color its actually a range of colors or a frequency spectrum thats emitted. This seemingly mundane physical phenomenon left twentieth-century physicists paralyzed for answers and it would ultimately provide the very first peak into the bizarre world of quantum mechanics. Click for Sound In 1900 some six years of work had led Max Planck to the correct mathematical form of the frequency spectrum known as Plancks Radiation Law. Indeed it was an amazing accomplishment worthy of a Nobel Prize in and of itself. However the law provided nothing in the way of actual physical insight. So the questioned remained: Whats it about the interaction of matter and radiation that results in the frequency spectrum? Planck needed to know and so he pushed forward. What he found would change physics and our understanding of nature forever: matter can only emit or absorb energy in specific chunks"! In other words the energy values allowed are discrete rather than a continuous distribution. So if an atoms energy goes up or down during its interaction with light it must do so in specific increments no more no less. Let me give you an analogy. Read More