Quanta Graininess Indivisible Commentary

Max Planck, Albert Einstein quantum mechanics

Quanta

• Black-body, as opposed to
• reflective-body, radiation taught
• Max Planck, against his
• convictions about physics, that
• electromagnetic
• energy was
• quantized as multiples of
• an elementary unit.
• Then it was possible
• for Albert Einstein, studying
• how light knocks
• electrons from metals, to
• realize that light is
• quantized, gathered into
• groups of photons with
• energy according to frequency.

Graininess

• Motion picture films
• at thirty frames per second
• imitate continuity.
• The brain smoothes out
• the graininess of the eye
• or computer display.
• Who can say
• everything is not quantized
• until we pry apart
• time and space
• and see if we
• can count pieces?

Indivisible

• The Greek word “atom” meant indivisible.
• Today we know that each part of an atom,
• its protons, neutrons, and electrons, are
• combinations of quarks that we think are indivisible.
• Jonathan Swift wrote that “a flea
• Has smaller fleas that on him prey”
• and “ad infinitum,” which means,
• if it were true, that the impossible end of density,
• and the impossible medium in which
• smaller and smaller parts
• continue to vibrate, could make it
• difficult to imagine the indivisible.