Quantum Physics for Dummies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wave Particle Duality

To see that both particles (as are electrons) and waves (as in light) show both particle and wave behavior, you need to consider the double slit experiment. In this experiment you let a beam of electrons or a beam of light pass a double slit. The pattern on a screen behind the slit will show interference, i.e. not a linear overlay of two single slits, but a more complicated pattern, characteristic of waves. Yet, if you reduce the intensity of the beam low enough, in both cases you will see single electrons or light flashes hit the screen, i.e. single particles. Adding up the hits over time, you will again find the interference pattern. Clearly, both electrons and light, show particle and wave behavior.

Answer: Quantum is Latin for "how much", "what amount"

Black body radiation, photoelectric effect and atomic line spectra all suggest that energy - as other physical variables like angular momentum - are quantized, i.e. in their change in a physical transition between one state and another can come only in certain amounts.

Max Planck showed that in order to explain the radiation that is emitted from a "black body", the energy cannot be continuous, but only appears in certain amounts, i.e. quants. Generally, for quantum mechanical systems, physical variables such as energy and angular momentum can only change in quants.

Answer: Max Born

The idea of particles having wave characteristics seemed to imply that a particle could be characterized by a certain mass density. Max Born rather interpreted this as a probability density of finding the particle at a certain position. Furthermore he said that quantum mechanics can predict only probabilities for the outcome of a measurement.

He also formulated a rule (for which he later got the Nobel Prize) about how to calculate those probabilities - but as promised, I will not stoop to deal in mathematics here.

Answer: Niels Bohr

Society in general and also leading scientists took a long time to accept even the basic ideas of quantum mechanics: the particle wave duality and the probabilistic nature of quantum physics. Certainly in the early days most physicists were baffled by the philosophical implications.
Danish physicist Niels Bohr won fame and the Nobel Prize for his model of the atom and founded the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Copenhagen University, later to be known as Niels Bohr Institute. The group of his colleagues and correspondents was known as "The Copenhagen School" of quantum mechanics.

Answer: He didn't like the probability interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Although in common knowledge mainly connected with the theory of relativity, Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect, which was one of the milestones in establishing quantum mechanics. He was in constant dialogue with the physicists working on the development of quantum mechanics and contributed much to the ensuing philosophical discussions.

Answer: Erwin Schrödinger

The Schrödinger equation describes the time development of a quantum mechanical systems, like the Hydrogen atom and more complicated systems. Actually, the Hydrogen atom is one of the few systems for which this equation can be "solved" exactly, i.e. no approximations have to be made. One of the successes of quantum mechanics is that the solution of the Schrödinger Equation gives the correct spectrum of the Hydrogen atom.

Answer: Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle

The Uncertainty Principle is a direct consequence of the wave character of the particles. A classical analogue is the case of a sound wave. A sound cannot exist within an arbitrarily short time and have a single well defined frequency. A tone needs to be continuous to have exact pitch.

Answer: Measurements made on these particles will be correlated.

Measurements made on the particles will be correlated. If you would measure the location of the first particle, you would be able to deduce the location of the second particle. And would still be free to measure its impulse, seemingly in violation of the uncertainty principle. Entanglement really means that entangled particles cannot be regarded as different quantum physical systems.
To understand quantum entanglement is one of the real challenges of quantum physics.

Answer: Distant events can have faster than light effects on local events.

Without phrasing the names quantum entanglement and non-locality, first Einstein and his colleagues Podolski and Rosen discussed this in a famous paper, claiming this was a paradox. Einstein talked about a "spooky action at a distance." Several ideas have been put forward to avoid this counter-intuitive characteristics of quantum physics, but indeed it has been shown beyond doubt that quantum entanglement and non-locality are facts of the physical world.
Nowadays quantum entanglement is being exploited in quantum computing and cryptography.

Answer: Nobody truly understands quantum physics.

So if you don't understand quantum physics, you are in very good company. And although most physicists are taught the mathematics of the theory involved and can reproduce the experimental findings, many still do not find it easy to accept all the philosophical implications of quantum theory.