Making Sense of Quantum Physics
Discover how nature behaves at its smallest scales, where particles act like waves and matter exists in multiple states at once. Explore core principles like superposition, uncertainty, and entanglement without getting lost in advanced mathematics. Connect counterintuitive subatomic rules to the everyday technology they make possible.
Like Duolingo, but for Making Sense of Quantum Physics. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
21 levels across 3 sections, about 42 minutes end to end, roughly 8 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Quantum Surprise: When Everyday Rules Fail, Core Rules of the Subatomic World, and Quantum Reality in Technology and Philosophy. It starts from scratch.
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Key ideas in Making Sense of Quantum Physics
- Subatomic entities like electrons do not permanently exist as only solid particles or only continuous waves
- The type of apparatus or detector used determines whether an experiment reveals particle-like or wave-like properties
- Wave-particle duality means both aspects are inherent to the entity rather than an accidental state it chooses
- Each individual particle registers as a single localized impact point on a detector screen
- When left unobserved at the slits, individual particles interfere with themselves as waves do
- Accumulating thousands of single particle arrivals gradually reveals an alternating light-and-dark interference pattern
- Wave behavior in matter means a particle's trajectory is not confined to one classical, rigid path
- Before detection, an unmeasured particle's position is described by a spread of probabilities spanning many routes
- The spreading wave indicates where the particle is likely to be found, not a solid object smeared out physically
- Measuring 'which-path' information forces the quantum wave to collapse into definite particle behavior
- When wave interference is destroyed by observation, particles pass through one slit or the other independently
- Two independent slit streams produce two plain piles or bands on the screen instead of an interference pattern
- Wave-particle duality applies to matter such as electrons and neutrons, not just to light
- Even relatively large composite objects like carbon-60 molecules exhibit wave interference when carefully isolated
- Everyday macroscopic objects like baseballs have wavelengths far too tiny to exhibit noticeable wave interference
- A quantum particle in superposition does not hold a secret, predetermined answer before it is observed
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Making Sense of Quantum Physics the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When you set up an experiment with electrons, what decides whether you see wave behavior or particle behavior?
Get it right to open this lesson and 20 more in the app.
How to learn Making Sense of Quantum Physics, step by step
Go in order. 21 short levels across 3 sections, about 42 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
The Quantum Surprise: When Everyday Rules Fail
- The Particle That Acts Like a Wave
- Superposition and the Probability Game
- 2
Core Rules of the Subatomic World
- Energy Arrives in Packets
- Heisenberg's Uncertainty and Quantum Limits
- Entanglement and Non-Local Connections
- 3
Quantum Reality in Technology and Philosophy
- How Quantum Physics Built the Modern World
- Interpreting What Quantum Reality Means
3 sections · 7 units · 21 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Making Sense of Quantum Physics
How do I learn Making Sense of Quantum Physics?
Go in order: start with The Quantum Surprise: When Everyday Rules Fail, then Core Rules of the Subatomic World, then Quantum Reality in Technology and Philosophy. On Tomo that's 21 short levels, about 42 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Making Sense of Quantum Physics?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Making Sense of Quantum Physics is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Making Sense of Quantum Physics course free?
Yes. Making Sense of Quantum Physics is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Making Sense of Quantum Physics?
21 levels across 3 sections, about 42 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Making Sense of Quantum Physics?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Making Sense of Quantum Physics is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Making Sense of Quantum Physics today.
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