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This is an amusing meme/complaint, but it is not really correct. In physics "quantum" does frequently imply very small, but its fundamental meaning is a "discre

This is an amusing meme/complaint, but it is not really correct. In physics "quantum" does frequently imply very small, but its fundamental meaning is a "discrete" change with no intermediate state. Hence, it is perfectly correct to use "quantum leap" to describe a significant development. P.S. There are now plenty of real-world quantum systems that are centimeter sized. Check "cavity QED".

SiempreViernes 9y ago
Quantum leap is also somewhat passable as a name for the period from 1905 to the 1950 when Quantum Mechanics established itself as the foundational theory of physics. I suspect the various pop-accounts of this period to be the source for quantum leap as a term for ”huge change” . I think Quantum revolution is the more common term for the period.
leggomylibro 9y ago
So is it sort of like how we use 'atomic' to mean a single discrete operation in programming? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linearizability https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linearizability
- TuringTest 9y ago
  Yes. The name "atom" literally meant "indivisible" in its original greek form. It's fitting for computations that go on undisturbed until completion.
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