Quote:
Originally Posted by raymo
My favourite saying used by people who have no idea what it really means, and actually use it to describe the exact opposite of what it means, is quantum leap. I love it when a proud politician opens a
new telescope or whatever, and says "this instrument will provide a
quantum leap in our knowledge of the universe". It's going to take us a long time to learn much if our knowledge increases in quantum leaps.
raymo
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Quantum does not refer to small size, but to a quantized nature. In quantum physics, the energy level of an electron changes from one state or another without ever being at an intermediate level. It is quantized.
So a 'quantum leap' in technology is a sudden jump from one level to a much higher level which skips over the usual intermediate states - just like the leap of an electron to the next energy level.