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As incorporated into the [[theory]] of [[quantum mechanics]], this is regarded by physicists as part of the fundamental framework for understanding and describing [[nature]] at the infinitesimal level, for the very [[practical]] [[reason]] that it works. It is "in the nature of things", not a more or less [[arbitrary]] [[human]] preference.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quanta]
As incorporated into the [[theory]] of [[quantum mechanics]], this is regarded by physicists as part of the fundamental framework for understanding and describing [[nature]] at the infinitesimal level, for the very [[practical]] [[reason]] that it works. It is "in the nature of things", not a more or less [[arbitrary]] [[human]] preference.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quanta]
==History and Discovery==
The [[concept]] of quantization was [[discovered]] in 1900 by German physicist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Planck Max Planck], who had been trying to [[understand]] the emission of [[radiation]] from [[heat]]ed objects, known as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_body_radiation black body radiation]. By [[assuming]] that [[energy]] can only be absorbed or released in tiny, differential, [[discrete]] packets he called "quanta," Planck accounted for the [[fact]] that certain objects [[change]] [[color]] when heated. On December 14, 1900, Planck reported his [[revolutionary]] findings about quanta to the German Physical Society and introduced the [[idea]] of quantization for the first time as a part of his [[research]] on black body radiation. As a result of his [[experiments]], Planck deduced the [[numerical]] [[value]] of h, known as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_constant Planck constant], and could also report a more precise [[value]] for the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avogadro%27s_number Avogadro-Loschmidt number], the number of real [[molecules]] in a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(unit) mole], and the [[unit]] of [[electrical]] charge, to the German Physical Society. After his [[theory]] was [[validated]], Planck was awarded the [[Nobel Prize]] in Physics in 1918 for his [[discovery]].
==References==
==References==
# [http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20050110221715data_trunc_sys.shtml Real-World Quantum Effects Demonstrated] February 11, 2005
# [http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20050110221715data_trunc_sys.shtml Real-World Quantum Effects Demonstrated] February 11, 2005
