Reference: Disturbance Theory
.
Quantization – Wikipedia
In physics, quantization is the process of transition from a classical understanding of physical phenomena to a newer understanding known as quantum mechanics. It is a procedure for constructing a quantum field theory starting from a classical field theory. This is a generalization of the procedure for building quantum mechanics from classical mechanics. One also speaks of field quantization, as in the “quantization of the electromagnetic field”, where one refers to photons as field “quanta” (for instance as light quanta). This procedure is basic to theories of particle physics, nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, and quantum optics.
The concept of quantization starts with cycles that make up the field, where each cycle has the same amount of energy. See Energy and Cycle. The phenomena of cycle leads to the quantization of more complex sub-atomic properties observed within the atom. This does not necessarily mean that these properties are completely discrete. However, the “action at a distance” approach explains all atomic and sub-atomic phenomena with mathematical discreteness quite successfully. This approach has given us Quantum Mechanics.
.
Quantum – Wikipedia
In physics, a quantum (plural: quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a physical property may be “quantized” is referred to as “the hypothesis of quantization”. This means that the magnitude of the physical property can take on only discrete values consisting of integer multiples of one quantum.
The hypothesis of quantization is a mathematical one that uses probability statistics. This hypothesis comes from the belief in “action at a distance”.
For example, a photon is a single quantum of light (or of any other form of electromagnetic radiation), and can be referred to as a “light quantum”. Similarly, the energy of an electron bound within an atom is also quantized, and thus can only exist in certain discrete values. The fact that electrons can only exist at discrete energy levels in an atom causes atoms to be stable, and hence matter in general is stable.
A photon represents the energy equivalent of a certain number of cycles taking part in the photoelectric effect. Since each cycle has the same amount of energy, the energy of cycles that take part in this interaction at the sub-atomic level appears to be discrete. This leads to the perception of a discrete energy particle. We call such an energy particle a photon. Similar considerations apply to energy levels observed within an atom and the electrons.
Quantization is one of the foundations of the much broader physics of quantum mechanics. Quantization of the energy and its influence on how energy and matter interact (quantum electrodynamics) is part of the fundamental framework for understanding and describing nature.
Such quantization is obvious in the interactions between field and matter at sub-atomic and atomic levels, where a mass particle breaks into energy particles called “quanta”.
.
