11
QUANTUM MECHANICS: A THREAD RUNS THROUGH IT ALL
Those of us who learned quantum mechanics, we love this notion that quantum mechanics is going to save the world and rewire the grid.
Richard Smalley
Figure 11.0. Universe ATU from the Thoth Tarot.
Courtesy of Leister Crowley and Frieda Harveys.
Quantum mechanics is the common thread linking many fields of science in the microworld into one field called nanoscience on which nanotechnology is based. This thread runs not only through different scientific disciplines in the microscale, but also runs through the whole scale from microscale (including nano) through macroscale. As we emphasized through the correspondence principle throughout this book, classical mechanics is just an approximation of quantum mechanics in the limit of large quantum numbers. In other words, classical mechanics is the quantum mechanics of macrosystems. In this chapter, we will explore this thread along different disciplines of science.
In This Chapter
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
11.3 Nanoscale Quantum Confinement of Matter
11.4 Quick Overview of Microelectronics
11.5 Quantum Computing
11.6 Quantum Biology
11.7 Exploring the Interface of Classical Mechanics and Quantum Mechanics
11.8 Living in the Quantum World
11.9 Summary
11.10 Additional Problems
11.1 INTRODUCTION
Because the macroworld we live in is made of building blocks ...
