The quantum: that pesky stuff hiding sub-atomically. Our world is made up of matter, and that matter is made up of atoms. If we were to grab our tape measure, the quantum space deals with matter smaller than what is between the lines—smaller than the atom. That is smaller than an organ, smaller than a cell, smaller than an organelle, smaller than a protein—smaller than… well, you get the picture. It is pretty damn small. So small, in fact, we are only just now, in the mighty 21st century, able to get a sneak peek at what is going on down there. The picture, however, is still pretty blurry.
Brush aside all those “smaller thans,” and we get back to where we need to be. Subatomic particles, from the elementary electron to the nuclei-bound neutron, from the positively heavy proton to the infinite smallness of the building blocks of quarks and gluons, are all, as you may expect, very difficult to see.
Wave pattern generated by visible light – the gaps between the lines. (ThreePhaseAC / CC BY-SA 4.0)
Quantum physics—a system of thinking about and exploring these incomprehensible yet fundamental processes of reality—is one branch of science designed to do just that: see. Attempts to map this uncharted space of existence are now coming hard and fast as modern advancements in technology bridge fields including science, mathematics and computing power.
When Plato envisioned his Platonic forms, he was brushing up against our most fundamental reality. Well over 2,000 years later, we are only…
