quantum jump

American  

noun

1. Physics. an abrupt transition of a system described by quantum mechanics from one of its discrete states to another, as the fall of an electron in an atom to an orbit of lower energy.

2. any sudden and significant change, advance, or increase.

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quantum jump Scientific  

1. A change from one quantum state to another, as when an electron orbiting a nucleus moves from one shell to another with the loss or gain of a quantum of energy.

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Etymology

Origin of quantum jump

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

While a lot has to go right for a team that finished 27-55 to make a quantum jump, the Bulls showed flashes when they won 10 of 12 games in December.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 25, 2018

According to the physicists, each quantum jump would liberate or absorb energy, and only on average would energy be conserved.

From Scientific American • Aug. 5, 2014

A third being planned would represent a quantum jump – a 4,800MW, $12bn giant that would move an entire region off carbon-based electricity.

From The Guardian • May 14, 2013

Compared with the TNT blockbuster, this primitive nuclear weapon constituted a "quantum jump" in the instruments of war.

From Time Magazine Archive

Glaser's award came for his development of the bubble chamber, a quantum jump in the study of atomic particles.

From Time Magazine Archive