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Quantum Wonders card QTM-03, Energy Comes in Steps, with a glowing paper-cut illustration. It reads: Light’s energy comes in tiny packets called quanta — more like a staircase than a ramp.

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Energy Comes in Steps

What’s going on

In 1900 Max Planck found he could only explain the glow of hot objects if energy were traded in fixed-size lumps. In 1905 Albert Einstein went further: light itself comes in lumps, now called photons. Each carries energy set by its colour, so blue photons carry more than red ones. The steps are so small that everyday light seems smooth, like a beach seen from far away. “Quantum” is Latin for “how much”.

Myth

A “quantum leap” is a huge jump.

Fact

In physics it means a sudden jump between two allowed levels, usually unimaginably small.

Learn more

Nobel Prizes in Physics 1918 (Planck) and 1921 (Einstein), nobelprize.org.

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QTM-03 from Quantum Wonders, free quantum physics cards for ages 10 to adult

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All 18 Quantum Wonders cards

Quantum Wonders card QTM-02, Mostly Empty Space, with a glowing paper-cut illustration. It reads: If an atom were as big as a stadium, its nucleus would be about the size of a pea in the middle. Mostly Empty SpaceQTM-02Quantum Wonders card QTM-05, Electron Clouds, with a glowing paper-cut illustration. It reads: Electrons don’t circle the nucleus like planets. They spread out in clouds that show where they are likely to be found. Electron CloudsQTM-0518 cards in six groupsSee them all