Quantum physics vs. Quantum Mechanics

WarrickF

Hi All,

I’m sorry if this is a silly question, but can someone please tell me what the difference between Quantum physics and Quantum Mechanics is?

Thanks
Warrick

MalleusScientiarum

There really is none.

Berislav

AFAIK, quantum physics is usually used as the more general. It is quantum mechanics and quantum field theory.

Pengwuino

One of my professors said that theorizing about something is physics, putting equations to it is mechanics.

WarrickF

Great thanks - I thought I was going crazzy :)

dextercioby

No, no, "mechanics" in "Quantum Mechanics" stands for the science's name.

Daniel.

Galileo

The way I see it is that quantum physics is more general than quantum mechanics.
Quantum physics is the name for a collection of quantum theories: (non)relativistic quantum mechanics (also including quantum optics) and quantum field theory.
Just like classical physics is a collective name for classical mechanics, electromagnetism and relativity.

dextercioby

I partly agree. Of course, you forgot classical statistics and (non)relativistic thermodynamics. And quantum statistics

Daniel.

vanesch

Indeed ; I thought quantum theory is the conceptual framework of Hilbert spaces, operators, and all that, which you can then apply to different, more concrete, models.
One such model is non-relativistic mechanics of point particles, and the result is then quantum mechanics.
Another such model is relativistic fields (or relativistic point particles, which turns out to give the same result), and the result is then quantum field theory.
Still another model are relativistic strings, and the result is string theory.

cheers,
Patrick.

preet0283

quantum mechanics deals with the algebra of the operators assigned to the observables.

Telos

From the current Wikipedia article on Quantum Mechanics.

Juan R.

I see many confussion here.

No the Wiki is not correct.

There is no relativistic quantum mechanics. Both Dirac equations and Klein/Gordon wave equations are wrong equations, when examinated in detail. The only consistent relativistic quantum formulation is relativistic quantum mechanics which is not a quantum mechanics in original sense and does not use original Dirac and Klein/Gordon.

As perfectly explaned by Galileo above, classical electrodynamics, thermodynamics, and mechanics build classical physics.

For instance, Electrodynamics is that part of science does not reduced to mechanics that explain electromagnetic phenomena.

At quantum level, things are similar. Quantum physics is not a synonym for quantum mechanics. Mechanics is only about movement, electromagnetic phenomena cannot be reduced to mechanics alone, and thus there exists quantum electrodynamics.

Also there is a quantum thermodynamics, that, of course, cannot be explained in pure mechanical terms. In fact, quantum thermodynamics cannot be constructed from usual Hilbert space formulation and one needs of more general formalisms, e.g. Liouville space and supermatrices.

As a final note, of course, quantum physics and quantum theory are not synonimous. Quantum physics is the collection of quantum theory more quantum experimentation. Or physics is not one of experimental sciences?

Simonne

Wow! I feel like an spy in a strange new land! I'm a Literature buff writing a health and diet book desperately trying to comprehend Quantum Physics so I can sum it up and googled Quantum Physics Vs Quantum Mechanics and most of this is going over my head! Most? Who am I kidding?! All of it! Can I ask someone - in Penrose's book 'Shadows of the Mind' - he talks about Quantum mechanics showing that our concept of matter has suffered a similar fate to that of our old concepts of the nature of time and space since Einstein's general relativity discovery. (*big breath in*) Can I use the term Quantum Physics here, or does it have to be quantum mechanics? And is the lay person going to know/care?!
Help!

Astronuc

Some people, even some teaching physics, apparently use quantum physics interchangeably with quantum mechanics, which is not correct.

Quantum mechanics is a subset of quantum phyiscs, which includes quantum electrodynamics, . . .

If one is concerned about particles and particle (matter) interaction, then referring to QM is appropriate.

I don't believe a lay person will care, or even be aware of a distinction, unless that person has researched the fields of QM and QP.

Simonne

Thanks!!!

Anonym

It will be great fun to read cooking prescriptions based on methods of QFT. Please provide ref when you will finish writing. I will be happy if it will be also practical but it is only sufficient and not necessary condition.

Regards, Dany.

Simonne

Ok! Will do!
Cheers,
Simonne