quantum

See also Quantum

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Late Latin quantum, noun use of neuter form of Latin quantus (“how much”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈkwɒntəm/
• (US) IPA: /ˈkwɑn(t)əm/
• SAMPA: /"kwan.t@m/

Noun

quantum (plural quanta)

1. (now chiefly South Asia) The total amount of something; quantity. [from 17th c.]
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society 1973, p. 416:

     The reader will perhaps be curious to know the quantum of this present, but we cannot satisfy his curiosity.

   • 2008, The Times of India, 21 May 2008, [1]:

     The Congress's core ministerial panel on Friday gave its green signal to raising motor fuel prices but the quantum of increase emerged as a hitch.

2. The amount or quantity observably present, or available. [from 18th c.]
   • 1999, Joyce Crick, translating Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, Oxford 2008, p. 34:

     The dream of flying, according to Strümpell, is the appropriate image used by the psyche to interpret the quantum of stimulus [transl. Reizquantum] proceeding from the rise and fall of the lungs when the cutaneous sensation of the thorax has simultaneously sunk into unconsciousness.

3. (physics) The smallest possible, and therefore indivisible, unit of a given quantity or quantifiable phenomenon. [from 20th c.]
   • 2002, David C Cassidy et al., Understanding Physics, Birkhauser 2002, p. 602:

     The quantum of light energy was later called a photon.

Related terms

• quantize

Translations

quantity

Afrikaans: hoeveelheid (af) Catalan: quantitat (ca) f. Chinese: Mandarin: 量 (cmn) (liàng) Finnish: määrä (fi) French: quantité (fr) f. German: Quantum (de) Hebrew: קְוַנְט (he) Hungarian: mennyiség (hu) Indonesian: please add this translation if you can

Japanese: 量 (ja) (ryō) Norwegian: please add this translation if you can Polish: ilość (pl) f. Portuguese: please add this translation if you can Russian: количество (ru) (kolíčestvo) n. Spanish: cantidad (es) f. Swedish: kvantitet (sv) c. Thai: จำนวน (th) (jamnuan) Turkish: kuantum (tr) Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

indivisible unit of a given quantity

Afrikaans: hoeveelheid (af) Catalan: quàntum (ca) m. Chinese: Mandarin: 量子 (cmn) (liàngzǐ) Finnish: kvantti (fi) French: quantum (fr) m. German: Quant (de), Minimum (de) Hebrew: קְוַנְט (he) Hungarian: kvantum (hu) Indonesian: please add this translation if you can Irish: candam (ga) m.

Japanese: 量子 (ja) (りょうし, ryōshi) Norwegian: please add this translation if you can Persian: کوانتم (fa) Polish: kwant (pl) m. Portuguese: please add this translation if you can Russian: квант (ru) (kvant) m. Spanish: cuanto (es) m. Swedish: kvantum (sv) n. Thai: ควอนตัม (kwaawndtam) Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

Adjective

quantum (not comparable)

1. (informal) Of a change, significant
2. (physics) Involving quanta
3. (computing theory) Relating to a quantum computer

Derived terms

quantum algorithm quantum bit quantum bogodynamics quantum brain dynamics quantum calculus quantum cascade laser quantum channel quantum chaos quantum chemistry quantum chromodynamics quantum circuit quantum computer quantum computing quantum cryptography quantum darwinism quantum decoherence quantum degeneracy quantum dense coding quantum dot quantum effect device quantum efficiency quantum electrochemistry quantum electrodynamics quantum electronics quantum entanglement quantum field theory quantum fingerprinting

quantum flavordynamics quantum fluctuation quantum gate quantum gauge theory quantum geometry quantum gravity quantum group quantum gyroscope quantum Hall effect quantum harmonic oscillator quantum heterostructure quantum history quantum hydrodynamics quantum immortality quantum indeterminacy quantum inequality quantum information quantum jump quantum leap quantum level quantum libet quantum limit quantum link quantum mechanics quantum network quantum neural network quantum number

quantum ontology quantum operation quantum optics quantum phase transition quantum physics quantum programming quantum psychology quantum randomness quantum register quantum scalar field quantum solvent quantum sort quantum state quantum statistical mechanics quantum suicide quantum superposition quantum teleportation quantum theory quantum tomography quantum valebant quantum vibration quantum virtual machine quantum waveform generator quantum well quantum wire quantum yield quantum Zeno effect

Translations

significant (of a change)

Finnish: suuri (fi), merkittävä (fi), määrällinen (fi) Japanese: 量子 (ja) (ryōshi)

Russian: значительный (ru) (značít'el'nyj), существенный (ru) (suš'éstv'ennyj)

involving quanta

Esperanto: kvantuma (eo) Italian: quantico (it), quantistico (it) Polish: kwantowy (pl) m., kwantowa (pl) f., kwantowe (pl)

Russian: квантовый (ru) (kvántovyj) Spanish: cuántico (es) m., cuántica (es) f., cuánticos (es) pl. Swedish: kvant- (sv)

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French

Etymology

From English quantum.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɑ̃tɔm/, /kwɑ̃tɔm/

Noun

quantum m. (plural quanta)

1. (physics) quantum

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Italian

Noun

quantum m. (plural quanta)

1. quantum

Synonyms

• quanto

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Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA: /ˈkʷan.tum/

• Audio (Classical)

  (file)

Adjective

quantum

1. nominative neuter singular of quantus
2. accusative masculine singular of quantus
3. accusative neuter singular of quantus
4. vocative neuter singular of quantus

Determiner

quantum (with genitive)

1. as much of […] as
2. how high, how dear, as dear as