quantum

¹quan·tum

noun \ˈkwän-təm\

plural quan·ta \ˈkwän-tə\

Definition of QUANTUM

1

a : quantity, amount

b : portion, part

c : gross quantity : bulk

2

a : any of the very small increments or parcels into which many forms of energy are subdivided

b : any of the small subdivisions of a quantized physical magnitude (as magnetic moment)

Examples of QUANTUM

1. <the sum of human knowledge is now so immense that even a highly educated person can hope to absorb only a tiny quantum of it>

Origin of QUANTUM

Latin, neuter of quantus how much

First Known Use: 1567

Related to QUANTUM

Synonyms

measure, quantity, amount, volume

Related Words

coefficient, degree; body, portion; many, number

Other Physics Terms

amplitude, centrifugal, centripetal, convection, gradient, hysteresis, kinetic, lase

²quantum

adjective

Definition of QUANTUM

1

: large, significant <a quantum improvement>

2

: of, relating to, or employing the principles of quantum mechanics <quantum physics>

First Known Use of QUANTUM

1942

Other Physics Terms

amplitude, centrifugal, centripetal, convection, gradient, hysteresis, kinetic, lase, quantum

quan·tum

noun \ˈkwänt-əm\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural ; quan·ta \ˈkwänt-ə\ (audio pronunciation)

Medical Definition of QUANTUM

1

: one of the very small increments or parcels into which many forms of energy are subdivided <a molecule of rhodopsin in the human eye can cause a response to a single quantum of light>

2

: one of the small molecular packets of a neurotransmitter (as acetylcholine) released into the synaptic cleft in the transmission of a nerve impulse across a synapse

quantum

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

In physics, a discrete natural unit, or packet, of energy, charge, angular momentum, or other physical property. Light, for example, which appears in some respects as a continuous electromagnetic wave, on the submicroscopic level is emitted and absorbed in discrete amounts, or quanta; for light of a given wavelength, the magnitude of all the quanta emitted or absorbed is the same in both energy and momentum. These particlelike packets of light are called photons, a term also applicable to quanta of other forms of electromagnetic energy such as X rays and gamma rays. Submicroscopic mechanical vibrations in the layers of atoms comprising crystals also give up or take on energy and momentum in quanta called phonons. See also quantum mechanics.