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7 months ago in Quantum Mechanics By Vernica

What actually is a quantum leap?

We use "quantum leap" to mean a huge change, but I know in physics it's actually tiny. What's really happening when an electron makes a quantum jump?

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By Aniketh Answered 2 months ago

In standard quantum mechanics, a quantum jump is an electron in an atom transitioning between discrete energy levels. It doesn't "travel" through space it vanishes from one orbital and appears in another, emitting or absorbing a photon of exact energy in the process. It's instantaneous, probabilistic, and utterly weird. Any claim that "spacetime acquires the energy" is speculative fringe, not textbook physics. The leap is small, discrete, and governed by probabilities, not classical motion.

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