Flavour (particle physics) In particle physics, flavour or flavor refers to a species of an elementary particle. The Standard Model counts six flavours of quarks and six flavours of leptons. They are conventionally parameterized with flavour quantum numbers that are assigned to all subatomic particles, including composite ones. For hadrons, these quantum numbers depend on the numbers of constituent quarks of each particular flavour. In atomic physics the principal quantum number of an electron specifies the electron shell in which it resides, which determines the energy level of the whole atom. In an analogous way, the five flavour quantum numbers of a quark specify which of six flavours (u, d, s, c, b, t) it has, and when these quarks are combined this results in different types of baryons and mesons with different masses, electric charges, and decay modes. If there are two or more particles which have identical interactions, then they may be interchanged without affecting the physics. Jump up ^ See table in S.
Quantum computer Technology that uses quantum mechanics A quantum computer is a computer that takes advantage of quantum mechanical phenomena. At small scales, physical matter exhibits properties of both particles and waves, and quantum computing leverages this behavior, specifically quantum superposition and entanglement, using specialized hardware that supports the preparation and manipulation of quantum states. Classical physics cannot explain the operation of these quantum devices, and a scalable quantum computer could perform some calculations exponentially faster (with respect to input size scaling)[2] than any modern "classical" computer. The basic unit of information in quantum computing is the qubit, similar to the bit in traditional digital electronics. National governments have invested heavily in experimental research that aims to develop scalable qubits with longer coherence times and lower error rates. History[edit] Quantum information processing[edit] Quantum information[edit] and , and . . over
General relativity Theory of gravitation as curved spacetime General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics. General relativity generalises special relativity and refines Newton's law of universal gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time or four-dimensional spacetime. Newton's law of universal gravitation, which describes classical gravity, can be seen as a prediction of general relativity for the almost flat spacetime geometry around stationary mass distributions. Reconciliation of general relativity with the laws of quantum physics remains a problem, however, as there is a lack of a self-consistent theory of quantum gravity. History[edit] The Einstein field equations are nonlinear and considered difficult to solve. Geometry of Newtonian gravity[edit] , where
Fundamental interaction Fundamental interactions, also called fundamental forces or interactive forces, are modeled in fundamental physics as patterns of relations in physical systems, evolving over time, that appear not reducible to relations among entities more basic. Four fundamental interactions are conventionally recognized: gravitational, electromagnetic, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear. Everyday phenomena of human experience are mediated via gravitation and electromagnetism. The strong interaction, synthesizing chemical elements via nuclear fusion within stars, holds together the atom's nucleus, and is released during an atomic bomb's detonation. The weak interaction is involved in radioactive decay. (Speculations of a fifth force—perhaps an added gravitational effect—remain widely disputed.) In modern physics, gravitation is the only fundamental interaction still modeled as classical/continuous (versus quantum/discrete). Overview of the fundamental Interaction[edit] The interactions[edit]
Quantum A photon is a single quantum of light, and is referred to as a "light quantum". The energy of an electron bound to an atom is quantized, which results in the stability of atoms, and hence of matter in general. As incorporated into the theory of quantum mechanics, this is regarded by physicists as part of the fundamental framework for understanding and describing nature at the smallest length-scales. Etymology and discovery[edit] The word "quantum" comes from the Latin "quantus", for "how much". Beyond electromagnetic radiation[edit] While quantization was first discovered in electromagnetic radiation, it describes a fundamental aspect of energy not just restricted to photons.[11] In the attempt to bring experiment into agreement with theory, Max Planck postulated that electromagnetic energy is absorbed or emitted in discrete packets, or quanta.[12] See also[edit] References[edit] Further reading[edit] B.
Theory of relativity Two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively.[1] Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in the absence of gravity. General relativity explains the law of gravitation and its relation to the forces of nature.[2] It applies to the cosmological and astrophysical realm, including astronomy.[3] The theory transformed theoretical physics and astronomy during the 20th century, superseding a 200-year-old theory of mechanics created primarily by Isaac Newton.[3][4][5] It introduced concepts including 4-dimensional spacetime as a unified entity of space and time, relativity of simultaneity, kinematic and gravitational time dilation, and length contraction. Development and acceptance Special relativity Special relativity is a theory of the structure of spacetime. General relativity
Color confinement The color force favors confinement because at a certain range it is more energetically favorable to create a quark-antiquark pair than to continue to elongate the color flux tube. This is analoguous to the behavior of an elongated rubber-band. An animation of color confinement. Energy is supplied to the quarks, and the gluon tube elongates until it reaches a point where it "snaps" and forms a quark-antiquark pair. Color confinement, often simply called confinement, is the phenomenon that color charged particles (such as quarks) cannot be isolated singularly, and therefore cannot be directly observed.[1] Quarks, by default, clump together to form groups, or hadrons. The two types of hadrons are the mesons (one quark, one antiquark) and the baryons (three quarks). Origin[edit] The reasons for quark confinement are somewhat complicated; no analytic proof exists that quantum chromodynamics should be confining. Models exhibiting confinement[edit] Models of fully screened quarks[edit] Quarks
Quantum mechanics Description of physical properties at the atomic and subatomic scale Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that describes the behavior of nature at and below the scale of atoms.[2]: 1.1 It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science. Classical physics, the collection of theories that existed before the advent of quantum mechanics, describes many aspects of nature at an ordinary (macroscopic) scale, but is not sufficient for describing them at small (atomic and subatomic) scales. Quantum mechanics arose gradually from theories to explain observations that could not be reconciled with classical physics, such as Max Planck's solution in 1900 to the black-body radiation problem, and the correspondence between energy and frequency in Albert Einstein's 1905 paper, which explained the photoelectric effect. Overview and fundamental concepts Mathematical formulation . and , where Here .
Quantum gravity Quantum gravity (QG) is a field of theoretical physics that seeks to describe the force of gravity according to the principles of quantum mechanics. Although a quantum theory of gravity is needed in order to reconcile general relativity with the principles of quantum mechanics, difficulties arise when one attempts to apply the usual prescriptions of quantum field theory to the force of gravity.[3] From a technical point of view, the problem is that the theory one gets in this way is not renormalizable and therefore cannot be used to make meaningful physical predictions. As a result, theorists have taken up more radical approaches to the problem of quantum gravity, the most popular approaches being string theory and loop quantum gravity.[4] Strictly speaking, the aim of quantum gravity is only to describe the quantum behavior of the gravitational field and should not be confused with the objective of unifying all fundamental interactions into a single mathematical framework.