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Quantum mechanics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
 | | In the formalism of quantum mechanics, the state of a system at a given time is described by a complex number wave functions (sometimes referred to as orbitals in the case of atomic electrons), and more generally, elements of a complex vector space. |
 | | When it was found in 1900 by Max Planck that the energy of waves could be described as consisting of small packets or quanta, Albert Einstein exploited this idea to show that an electromagnetic wave such as light could be described by a particle called the photon with a discrete energy dependent on its frequency. |
 | | By measuring the energy in a discrete non-continuous portion of the wave, the wave took on the appearance of chunks or packets of energy. |
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