What's the difference between Quantum Mechanics & Quantum Phsyics?

[JLam]

I have no idea, as I'm not really all that smart. But neither are most of the quacks out there who spout off about QM and/or QP as the answer to whatever BS they're trying to push on you. It occured to me that you can use this question to shut these types of people up.

I read somewhere that anyone who claims to understand QP/QM probably doesn't.

I just think the next time someone says something along the lines of "Oh, you know that the theory of Intelligent Design is supported by Quantum Physics," you can say to them "You know, I've always wondered about the difference between QM and QP." That outghta throw a monkey wrench into their stupid BS.

By the way, what IS the difference between QM and QP, in layman's [or stupid chef's] terms?

 

[epepke]

I have no idea, as I'm not really all that smart. But neither are most of the quacks out there who spout off about QM and/or QP as the answer to whatever BS they're trying to push on you. It occured to me that you can use this question to shut these types of people up.

I read somewhere that anyone who claims to understand QP/QM probably doesn't.

I just think the next time someone says something along the lines of "Oh, you know that the theory of Intelligent Design is supported by Quantum Physics," you can say to them "You know, I've always wondered about the difference between QM and QP." That outghta throw a monkey wrench into their stupid BS.

By the way, what IS the difference between QM and QP, in layman's [or stupid chef's] terms?

I'm not sure that I've ever heard the term Quantum Physics.

Quantum Mechanics usually refers roughly to what was discovered about the behavior of quanta before about 1940. Other stuff has been discovered since then: QED, QCD, Bell's inequality, etc. I suppose that Quantum Physics could be used as a term for the whole schmeer.

 

[Simon Bridge]

Quantum Physics is the field. It's what Quantum Physicists do.
Quantum Mechanics is a part of the feild. It's what Quantum Physicists use.

QM usually refers to Wave Mechanics (Schrodinger et al) but can refer to Particle Mechanics (Einstein/Dirac) as well.

QM is supposed to be distinct, as pointed out, from the relativistic theories like QED (Quantum Electro-Dynamics - Feynman et al).

Good enough?

 

[Soapy Sam]

I think it depends who uses the terms.

To me, QP is the field and QM the tendency to use agreed upon calculating models to extract predictions about quantum systems- ie QM is a method used in QP, which is pretty much what Simon said, I think.
To most journalists , general readers and pop science writers, the terms seem to be pretty well synonymous.

 

[Brian the Snail]

I don't think there is a difference- they are just two terms that refer to the same thing. It's similar to statistical mechanics/statistical physics which also tend to be used interchangably.

 

[Jekyll]

Quantum Science is the phrase you should watch out for.

If anyone uses this, they should be beaten around the head with a spanner; don't stop to find out what woo they are peddling.