explain as easily and in detail as you can THE QUANTUM THEORY.?

Question

HOW DOES IT CONTRADICT EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF RELATIVITY.(only expert views recommended)

Answer 1

I am by no means a physics expert, but I did catch a show concerning this by physicist Brian Greene on PBS.

From what I understand, the primary difference between relativity and quantum theory, is that while relativity explains the behavior of matter on a macroscopic scale (e.g., planets), quantum theory explains the behavior of matter on a microscopic scale (e.g., atoms).

From what I could understand from the program, the primary issue was that the equations derived from each perspective cannot account for both the behavior of large and small particles. For example, while the motion of large objects appear orderly, the motion of subatomic particles are chaotic.

So the fundamental question then becomes how planetary objects can show orderly behavior (as explained by Einstein's equations), when they are made up of subatomic particles that are not orderly (as explain by quantum equations).

The current explanation for this paradox is something called string theory, which suggests that all matter is made up of strings that vibrate in different ways. Strings are believed to be the fundamental unit of all matter because they can contain the properties of both order and chaos.

The show made a comparison between playing a note on a musical instrument. Each note played produces a particular sound, with each particular sound corresponding to a particular type of subatomic particle. Several strings together lead up to a larger particle.

So essentially, the theory describes a metaphor for the universe as being much like musical instruments in a symphony orchestra.

Answer 2

Which theory of relativity? General or special?

It does not contradict the special theory - it has been unified with the sepcial theory as quantum electrodynamics.

General relativity is inconsistent with quantum theory because it predicts that the universe is smooth down to arbitrarily small scales, and we know from quantum mechanics that this simply is not true. However, no alternative quantum theory of gravity has been successfully developed and tested. M-theory is one candidate.

Answer 3

Quantum Theory, in physics, description of the particles that make up matter and how they interact with each other and with energy. Quantum theory explains in principle how to calculate what will happen in any experiment involving physical or biological systems, and how to understand how our world works. The name “quantum theory” comes from the fact that the theory describes the matter and energy in the universe in terms of single indivisible units called quanta (singular quantum). Quantum theory is different from classical physics. Classical physics is an approximation of the set of rules and equations in quantum theory. Classical physics accurately describes the behavior of matter and energy in the everyday universe. For example, classical physics explains the motion of a car accelerating or of a ball flying through the air. Quantum theory, on the other hand, can accurately describe the behavior of the universe on a much smaller scale, that of atoms and smaller particles. The rules of classical physics do not explain the behavior of matter and energy on this small scale. Quantum theory is more general than classical physics, and in principle, it could be used to predict the behavior of any physical, chemical, or biological system. However, explaining the behavior of the everyday world with quantum theory is too complicated to be practical.

Quantum theory not only specifies new rules for describing the universe but also introduces new ways of thinking about matter and energy. The tiny particles that quantum theory describes do not have defined locations, speeds, and paths like objects described by classical physics. Instead, quantum theory describes positions and other properties of particles in terms of the chances that the property will have a certain value. For example, it allows scientists to calculate how likely it is that a particle will be in a certain position at a certain time.

Quantum description of particles allows scientists to understand how particles combine to form atoms. Quantum description of atoms helps scientists understand the chemical and physical properties of molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles. Quantum theory enabled scientists to understand the conditions of the early universe, how the Sun shines, and how atoms and molecules determine the characteristics of the material that they make up. Without quantum theory, scientists could not have developed nuclear energy or the electric circuits that provide the basis for computers.

Quantum theory describes all of the fundamental forces—except gravitation—that physicists have found in nature. The forces that quantum theory describes are the electrical, the magnetic, the weak, and the strong. Physicists often refer to these forces as interactions, because the forces control the way particles interact with each other. Interactions also affect spontaneous changes in isolated particles.

Answer 4

First, to understand quantum theory, you need to know why the theory arose. At the end of the 19th century, scientists knew that electromagnetic radiation (light, infrared, and ultraviolet radiation) was given off by objects that were heated due to the motion of the atoms and the molecules. That type of radiation was known as "blackbody radiation." Scientists could not explain, however, the spectrum that was produced, particularly in the ultraviolet. The inability of the existing classical physics to explain this was known as the "ultraviolet catastrophe" because it meant our existing laws of physics were either incorrect or incomplete.

Max Planck and other scientists of the time came to the conclusion that if you assume the energy given off can only be given off in certain "packets" or "quanta" of energy - instead of any possible amount of energy - then the blackbody radiation experiment could be explained.

This means that energy, just like matter, must come in minimum discrete quantities. The minimum unit of energy was called the photon.

Now, if energy comes in discret quantities instead of any size unit, one corollary of this is that instead of energy always being given off by the motion of electrons, etc., the electrons must occupy certain energy levels and there is a certain probability at any given time of an electron moving from one level to another in an atom.

This led to the idea that nature is based on probability. There is a random chance of any given electron, atom, and other particles acting in ways that are not predicted by classical physics. The idea that an electron's position could never be known exactly in an electron cloud, but instead was just a "probability distribution" followed.

Some scientists, such as Einstein, disagreed with the idea that our universe is based on chance. Einstein famous quote - "God does not play at dice with the universe" - exemplified this disagreement.

However, quantum mechanics does not contradict Einstein's theory of relativity - either general or special. They are two different concepts. Einstein's theory of general and special relativity arose at about the same time as quantum mechanics was being developed to explain a completely different experiment, the Michelson-Morley experiment, that came to the conclusion that there is no "preferred reference frame" in the universe where the speed of light is a constant in a vacuum. Instead, the speed of light in a vacuum is the same when measured in ANY reference frame. Einstein's theory of relativity explained that experiment by just assuming that the speed of light in a vacuum is independent of reference frame. The consequences of that assumption, however, were startling at the time.

Answer 5

The Quantum Theory is the understanding of matter to its basic core....subatomic study, basically the most distinct measurement u'll find for any substantial quantity is derived from quantum....

To add i totally agree w/ Ryan's quote of Richard Feynman

Answer 6

Put very simply, quantum theory postulates that there is a "smallest quantity" of energy that can exist, and that it is not possible (or even logical) to try and think in terms of something less than a single quantum.

Answer 7

To quote Richard Feynman, "Nobody understands quantum mechanics". Anybody that claims to must either be a fool, or a liar.

Answer 8

this is purely an summary idea about the smallest subunits of remember. we've all heard of atoms. maximum persons comprehend that atoms are made from protons, neutrons and electrons. they're made from quarks and the theory is that quarks are made from strings.

Answer 9

I think before you frame a question like this you should do a some research on your own.