text: what is quantum mechanics?   quantum mechanics is a fundamental branch of theoretical physics that replaces classical mechanics and classical electromagnetism at the atomic and subatomic levels. it is the underlying mathematical framework of many fields of physics and chemistry, including condensed matter physics, atomic physics, molecular physics, computational chemistry, quantum chemistry, particle physics, and nuclear physics. along with general relativity, quantum mechanics is one of the pillars of modern physic       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 (see figure 1, at right). 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. the foundations of quantum mechanics were established during the first half of the twentieth century by werner heisenberg, max planck, louis de broglie, niels bohr, erwin schrödinger, max born, john von neumann, paul dirac, albert einstein, wolfgang pauli and others. some fundamental aspects of the theory are still actively studied.  quantum mechanics is a more fundamental theory than newtonian mechanics and classical electromagnetism, in the sense that it provides accurate and precise descriptions for many phenomena that these "classical" theories simply cannot explain on the atomic and subatomic level. it is necessary to use quantum mechanics to understand the behavior of systems at atomic length scales and smaller. for example, if newtonian mechanics governed the workings of an atom, electrons would rapidly travel towards and collide with the nucleus. however, in the natural world the electron normally remains in a stable orbit around a nucleus — seemingly defying classical electromagnetism.  quantum mechanics was initially developed to explain the atom, especially the spectra of light emitted by different atomic species. the quantum theory of the atom developed as an explanation for the electron's staying in its orbital, which could not be explained by newton's laws of motion and by classical electromagnetism. hope this helps u out.... have a great day......