Quanta

D. A. Quiñones

A small truth that unveils the universe,
revealing is not an ocean, but a collection of drops.
Unbreakable blocks that build the world,
uniform steps ascending from impenetrable floor.

Bound sizes, forbidden colours,
uncover the secrets of form and substance. 
Attuned light and matter becoming one,
exalted elements displaying their essence. 

The shiny key that unlocks the black box,
and becomes a guiding torch in our dark path.
But the price to pay for this promethean fire
is to relinquish our own anchor to reality. 

The material becomes ethereal,
the destined becomes uncertain. 
Nature transcends words,
besting experience, surpassing dreams. 

The Science

Quantization of energy is the concept that energy is absorbed or emitted not continuously but in discrete packages or “quanta”. This hypothesis was introduced by Max Planck in 1900, which allowed him to calculate the spectrum of a black body, a major unsolved problem at the time. A black body is an ideal system that absorbs all incident radiation and emits its own light in order to be in thermal equilibrium with its environment. Planck’s idea of quantized energy was later adopted by Albert Einstein to explain the photoelectric effect, for which he was awarded the 1921 Nobel prize in Physics. In the photoelectric effect, an illuminated metal sheet will emit electrons due to the interaction of light particles, called photons. These findings are considered the beginnings of Quantum Mechanics.

The Poet

Diego A. Quiñones is an Innovation Lead in Quantum Technologies at Innovate UK, a section of the body of the Government of the United Kingdom that directs research and innovation funding (UKRI). With a background in quantum information, he is a science communicator and aspiring writer with experience in the conception and creation of science-inspired art. Twitter: @Q_DiegoA

Next poem: Quantum Entanglement by Louise DiLenge