A quantum is the minimum amount of matter involved in an energetic interaction. For example, a photon is a single quantum of light or of any other form of electromagnetic radiation. A photon's energy is equal to its frequency multiplied by the Planck constant. The energy of an electron bound within an atom is quantized. Quantization of energy, and how energy and matter interact, is part of the fundamental understanding of nature.
As science advanced, quanta meant different things:
- Quanta of electricity (electrons), was used in a 1902 article on the photoelectric effect.
- In 1905, Einstein suggested that radiation existed in spatially localized packets which he called "quanta of light."
- From 1900 onwards, quantization of radiation was discovered by Planck, who had been trying to understand black-body radiation. He observed that energy could be absorbed or released only in tiny, differential, discrete packets (which he called "bundles", or "energy elements"). As a result, Planck deduced the Planck constant h which is the quantum of energy (h = 6.62607015×10−34 J⋅Hz−1). After his theory was validated, Planck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery in 1918. This led to the study of quantum mechanics and is the basis for many areas of modern science, such as quantum computers, entanglement and teleportation.
The fabric of reality is composed of quanta, which are indivisible packets of matter/energy discovered at different periods of scientific advancement, as the Laws of Physics changed:
- A 3D reality is made up of 1D quantum strings or loops, and foam (quantums of matter), which are at Planck sizes, and interconnected by quantum entanglement. The quantum of energy is the planck constant. The quantum of information is the qubit, related to photons or bits per Planck-area.
- A 4D reality has the chronon (the quantum of time) at 5.39×10−44 seconds.
- A 5D reality has the graviton (the quantum of gravity) at 1.07×10−67 kg, where dimensions are rolled up into tiny, compactified loops.
- At 6D the Theory of Everything was discovered, that standardized the interactions between all four forces of nature: gravity, strong nuclear, weak nuclear, and electromagnetic force. The quantum is still the graviton.
- A 7D reality has a new quantum dimension called the heptum, with new fundamental forces, and new laws of physics.
- The 7D quantum is the same in all further reality, including the hyperverse.
- The quantum of surreality is unknown, but it is likely an exotic form of matter/energy.
- The final quantum is in the outerverse which is unbound by the idea of dimensions. An outerverse particle is therefore an empty dimension in reality. The nature of this quantum is not known.
List of quanta[]
| Quantum | Quantum of... |
|---|---|
| chronon | time at 5.39×10−44 seconds |
| dark photon | dark matter |
| electron (and exciton) | electricity and conductivity |
| gluon | strong nuclear force |
| graviton | gravity at 1.07×10−67 kg |
| Higgs boson | Higgs field, responsible for mass |
| magnetic monopole | magnetricity |
| magnon | a spin wave in magnetism |
| phonon | a sound wave |
| photon | light |
| plasmon | plasma |
| planck constant | energy |
| polariton | state between a photon and an optical phonon |
| quark | protons and neutrons |
| qubit | information, in bits per Planck-area |
| quintesson | quintessence |
| roton | vortex |