When speaking of quantum physics what does "quantum" refer to?

Superman4ever

Well, after some very light reserching, I've gotten my papers to come to a consensus about what it means. I'm not 100% sure, but I think it means bulk or larger; quantities. Jul 14 06, 9:28 PM

What-A-Mess

quan·tum n. pl. quan·ta (-t) 1. A quantity or amount. 2. A specified portion. 3. Something that can be counted or measured. 4. Physics. 1. The smallest amount of a physical quantity that can exist independently, especially a discrete quantity of electromagnetic radiation. 2. This amount of energy regarded as a unit. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quantum http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quantum Jul 14 06, 9:38 PM

gdec1

"The term quantum (Latin, "how much") refers to discrete units that the theory assigns to certain physical quantities, such as the energy of an atom at rest.The discovery that waves could be measured in particle-like small packets of energy called quanta led to the branch of physics that deals with atomic and subatomic systems which we today call Quantum Mechanics." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics Jul 14 06, 10:12 PM