A few useful terms

Quantum mechanics or quantum physics The way of describing how nature works at the scale of atoms and smaller. In the quantum world, physical processes are discontinuous and take place in quantum leaps, which are actually very small despite the common misuse of the term to mean “big change.” Many features of the quantum world are counterintuitive to our everyday experience. For instance, it works according to the laws of chance or probability, meaning that an electron or some other quantum entity selects at random from various possible options of behaviour.

Another feature of quantum mechanics is that particles like electrons and protons have wavelike properties that define their quantum state. All elementary particles are either fermions or bosons, named after scientists Enrico Fermi and S.N. Bose. Bosons The party animals of the quantum world, bosons behave gregariously, gathering in identical quantum states, given the opportunity. Particles linked to the transmission of forces are bosons, such as photons that carry light and other electromagnetic radiation. Fermions The anti-social members of the quantum world. Fermions behave claustrophobically, refusing to occupy identical quantum states in the same location. Particles that make up what we think of as the material world are fermions, such as electrons, protons and neutrons. Atoms Composite particles like atoms are either bosons or fermions, depending on whether they have an equal total number of protons, neutrons and electrons (bosons) or an odd number (fermions).