- The kinetic and potential energy of atoms results from the motion of electrons. When electrons are excited, they move to a higher energy orbital farther away from the atom. The further the orbital is from the nucleus, the higher the potential energy of an electron at that energy level. The electron stays in an excited state for a short time. When the electron transits from an excited state to its lower energy state, it will give off the same energy needed to rise to that level. This emitted energy is a photon. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no known components or substructure. The electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton.
- According to Quantum Field Theory, an electron shouldn’t have any mass, but we have proof that it does because it has finite quantum states that evolve, and it does not travel at the speed of light. Therefore, the reason why an electron has mass because of an unusual interaction involving parity violation. The Higgs field gives mass to fundamental particles
- the electrons, quarks, and other building blocks that cannot be broken into smaller parts. . The energy of this interaction between quarks and gluons gives protons and neutrons their mass.
- Quantum Trajectory Theory (QTT) is a formulation of quantum mechanics used for simulating open quantum systems, quantum dissipation, and single quantum systems. QTT is compatible with the standard formulation of quantum theory, as described by the Schrödinger equation, but it offers a more detailed view.
- Electrons are the subatomic particles that have the most negligible mass. Neutrons and protons are found together in the nucleus of the atom.
- The quantum Zeno effect slows down the evolution of a quantum state to the limit that the state is observed continuously. It describes the situation that an unstable particle, if observed continuously, will never decay.
An orbiting electron in an atom makes jumps between energy levels, known as quantum leaps or jumps. The atom creates a photon when an electron moves to a lower energy level and absorbs a photon when an electron moves to a higher energy level or leaves the atom (ionization). Atomic electron transition is a change of an electron from one energy level to another within an atom or artificial atom. It appears discontinuous as the electron “jumps” from one energy level to another, typically in a few nanoseconds or less. When an electron jumps from a higher energy level to a lower energy level, it releases energy known as the emission of energy. Note that the electron can absorb or emit only that much energy, equal to the energy difference between the two levels. When properly stimulated, electrons in these materials move from a lower energy level up to a higher level of energy and occupy a different orbital. Then, at some point, these higher energy electrons give up their “extra” energy in the form of a photon of light and fall back down to their original energy level.
An electron completes 2.46×1015 revolutions in a second. That’s about seven quadrillion revolutions per second. Electron jumps are continuous transitions over intermediate states. An underlying deterministic mechanism drives the whole process. There is just an appearance of randomness. The quantum Zeno effect refers to a slowing down of the evolution of a quantum state with a limit when the state is observed continuously. It describes the situation when an unstable particle is constantly observed; it will never decay. A series of superposition states are primarily predictable, along with a few that are not predictable. So, you get a few rolls of the dice along with mostly continuous and deterministic waves.