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Quiz Bowl > Quantum Mechanics Concepts > Flashcards

Quantum Mechanics Concepts Flashcards

1
Q

What is quantum mechanics?

A

The theory of the mechanics governing extremely small systems, comparable to the size of atoms

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2
Q

Why was quantum mechanics developed?

A

To describe phenomena that classical mechanics was unable to explain

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3
Q

What are some phenomena that quantum mechanics explains?

A
  • Theory of blackbodies
  • Photoelectric effect
  • Wave-like nature of particles
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4
Q

What is quantization?

A

The phenomenon in which certain quantities can only take certain discrete values

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5
Q

Who discovered the quantization of energy?

A

Max Planck

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6
Q

What are photons?

A

Individual particles of light

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7
Q

What is Planck’s constant represented by?

A

h

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8
Q

What is the reduced Planck’s constant represented by?

A

ħ (h-bar)

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9
Q

What is superposition in quantum mechanics?

A

The principle by which a quantum system can exist in a state that is a simultaneous combination of two or more discrete states

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10
Q

What does the Copenhagen interpretation state about superposition?

A

The particle is in neither state until observed

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11
Q

What does Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment illustrate?

A

The absurdity of superposition in quantum mechanics

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12
Q

What is wave-particle duality?

A

The idea that quantum systems can display both wave-like and particle-like properties

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13
Q

What is the work function in the context of the photoelectric effect?

A

The minimum energy threshold for electrons to be emitted from a metal

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14
Q

What is Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle?

A

The principle stating that certain pairs of properties cannot be known simultaneously with arbitrary precision

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15
Q

What does the uncertainty principle state mathematically?

A

The product of the standard deviation of position and momentum must be greater than h/4π

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16
Q

What is spin in quantum mechanics?

A

A form of intrinsic angular momentum possessed by elementary particles

17
Q

What are fermions?

A

Particles with half-integer spin

18
Q

What are bosons?

A

Particles with integer spin

19
Q

What is quantum tunneling?

A

The phenomenon where a quantum particle passes through a potential energy barrier that it could not pass through classically

20
Q

What is entanglement in quantum mechanics?

A

A phenomenon where the state of each particle cannot be described independently of the other particles

21
Q

What does the Pauli exclusion principle state?

A

No two identical fermions can occupy the same quantum state at the same time

22
Q

What is a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC)?

A

A state of matter formed when a low-density gas of bosons is cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero

23
Q

What is a wavefunction?

A

A mathematical description of a quantum state in an isolated system

24
Q

What does the square of the wavefunction represent?

A

The probability density of measuring a particle in a particular place

25
Q

What is normalization in the context of wavefunctions?

A

The condition that the spatial integral of the wavefunction times its complex complement must equal one

26
Q

What are operators in quantum mechanics?

A

Mathematical functions that act on wavefunctions to yield values of physical quantities called observables

27
Q

What is the Hamiltonian operator?

A

The operator corresponding to total energy in quantum mechanics

28
Q

What is the commutator of two operators?

A

A function that measures the degree to which the two operators obey the commutative property

29
Q

What does the Schrödinger equation govern?

A

How the wavefunction changes in time and space

30
Q

What does the time-independent Schrödinger equation state?

A

The Hamiltonian operator applied to the wavefunction equals energy times the wavefunction

31
Q

What is the significance of the Schrödinger equation?

A

It can be seen as a quantum generalization of Newton’s second law

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