Portal:Mathematics/Featured article/2007 7

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Quantum mechanics (or quantum theory) is a mathematical theory that describes the behaviour of systems of atoms and subatomic particles. It also forms the basis for the contemporary understanding of the processes inside large objects such as stars and galactic nuclei, and of cosmological events such as the Big Bang and the origin of the observed large scale structure of the universe. Its acceptance by the general physics community is due to its accurate prediction of the physical behaviour of such systems, where Newtonian mechanics fails. This difference between the success of classical and quantum mechanics is most often observed in systems at the atomic scale or smaller, or at very low or very high energies, or at extremely low temperatures. Quantum mechanics is the basis of modern developments in chemistry, molecular biology, and electronics, and the foundation for the technology that has transformed the world in the last sixty years.

Through a century of experimentation and applied science, quantum mechanical theory has proven to be very successful and practical. The term "quantum mechanics" was first coined by Max Born in 1924. Quantum mechanics is the foundation for other sciences including condensed matter physics, quantum chemistry, and particle physics.

Despite the success of quantum mechanics, it does have some controversial elements. For example, the behaviour of microscopic objects described in quantum mechanics is very different from our everyday experience, which may provoke an incredulous reaction. While most areas of fundamental physics are understood as quantum theories, some areas remain difficult, such as developing quantum gravity which requires Einstein's general relativity to be quantised.

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