quantum electrodynamics

noun

, Physics.

1. the quantum field theory that deals with the electromagnetic field and its interaction with electrons and positrons. : QED

quantum electrodynamics

noun

1. physics a relativistic quantum mechanical theory concerned with electromagnetic interactions QED

quantum electrodynamics

1. A quantum field theory of electromagnetism that explains the interactions between electrically charged particles and photons. According to quantum electrodynamics, charged particles interact with one other by emitting or absorbing photons, which are the carriers of the electromagnetic force. Quantum electrodynamics correctly predicts such phenomena as the structure of atoms, and the creation and annihilation of particles (for example, when matter and antimatter collide). Quantum electrodynamics is one of the most well-tested, accurate, and successful theories in physics.

Word History and Origins

Origin of quantum electrodynamics¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

During a talk at a conference, Richard Feynman, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist who devised much of quantum electrodynamics, “without much difficulty shot me to pieces, which I deserved,” he said.

From New York Times

This caused a lot of trouble when the theory of quantum electrodynamics first came out.

From Literature

Studies of these ions attempt to verify whether quantum electrodynamics — a theory that has been extremely successful at explaining the behaviour of particles and atoms — is also valid for molecules.

From Nature

While still a student, he provided the mathematical grounds for quantum electrodynamics, or QED, to explain the interactions of elementary particles.

From Nature

He succeeded in the late 1940s in developing an early landmark synthesis of the latest thinking in the theory known as quantum electrodynamics.

From Washington Post