Definition of quantum leap

The term "quantum leap" originated in the field of physics in the early 20th century. In physics, a quantum is the smallest possible unit of a physical property, such as energy or angular momentum. A quantum state is a distinct value that a physical system can adopt for a particular property, and a transition between two quantum states is called a quantum jump or quantum leap. The concept of quantum leaps was first introduced by Danish physicist Niels Bohr in the 1910s to explain the behavior of electrons in atoms. Bohr proposed that electrons could exist in discrete, energy-quantized states around the nucleus, and that when an electron made a quantum leap from one state to another, it released or absorbed the precise amount of energy necessary to make the transition. The phrase "quantum leap" was later popularized by American physicist Richard Feynman in the 1940s as a way to describe the sudden, discontinuous changes that can occur in quantum systems. In his words, "If, in our imagined experiment with the television picture tube, we apply a voltage which is a quantum too small, nothing happens; if it is a quantum too large, nothing happens; but if it is exactly the right size, the electron makes a quantum jump from one station to another." Outside of physics, the term "quantum leap" has been applied metaphorically to describe sudden, dramatic improvements or advances, particularly in fields such as business, technology, and science, where the concept of quantum theory has broad applications beyond the world of atoms and photons.