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Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small, a free science course on Tomo

Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small

Explore the mind-bending rules that govern the universe at its smallest scales. Discover how particles act like waves, why uncertainty rules reality, and how quantum quirks power the technology in your pocket.

Like Duolingo, but for Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.

A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Microscopic Rulebook and Quantum Reality at Work. It starts from scratch.

11 bite-size levelsAbout 5 minutes each

Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Quark the Quokka, the guide who teaches the Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small course
Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small
with Quark the Quokka
11
Levels
2
Sections
5
Min/day
What you'll learn

Key ideas in Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small

  • Light is emitted and absorbed in indivisible bundles called photons, not as a seamless liquid-like stream
  • Dimming light reduces the number of photons hitting a detector per second, not the size or energy of each individual packet
  • At extremely low intensities, light registers as separate, countable arrival events
  • Fundamental matter particles like electrons spread out and travel as probability waves when left undisturbed
  • Wave-particle duality applies to solid matter, not just to light
  • The solid, single-point behavior of an electron only appears when it is detected or measured
  • Each isolated electron behaves as a wave that passes through both slits simultaneously
  • The wave interferes with itself, creating an alternating pattern of constructive and destructive bands
  • Even when particles are fired one at a time, their individual landing points slowly build up an interference pattern over time
  • Quantum measurement is not passive gazing; it is a physical interaction (like bouncing a photon off the electron)
  • Interacting with the electron to determine its path destroys its spread-out wave behavior, forcing it into a single definite track
  • Once path information is known, the particle no longer interferes with itself
  • Every moving object has an associated quantum wavelength, but it shrinks as mass increases
  • For macroscopic objects like baseballs or people, the wavelength is far smaller than an atomic nucleus, making wave phenomena unnoticeable
  • Constant physical contact with surrounding air and photons continuously localizes everyday objects into definite positions
  • Before measurement, quantum particles like electrons do not have a single definite location
Why not just Google it

You've tried the other tabs

Wikipedia

Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.

YouTube

You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.

ChatGPT

One answer, then back to scrolling.

Online courses

Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.

Tomo gives Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small 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.

Try a question

Here's what playing it feels like

A real question from this course. Take your best guess.

Tiny Packets and Dancing Waves

When you dim a lamp, what actually changes about the light packets coming out?

Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.

Course map

How to learn Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small, step by step

Go in order. 11 short levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes in all, five minutes a day.

  1. 1

    The Microscopic Rulebook

    • Ripples and Particles
    • Superposition and Probabilities
  2. 2

    Quantum Reality at Work

    • Entanglement and Connection
    • Everyday Quantum Technology

2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.

Questions

Questions about Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small

  1. How do I learn Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small?

    Go in order: start with The Microscopic Rulebook, then Quantum Reality at Work. On Tomo that's 11 short levels, about 22 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.

  2. Is there a Duolingo-style app for Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small?

    Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.

  3. Is the Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small course free?

    Yes. Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.

  4. How long does it take to learn Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small?

    11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 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.

  5. Do I need any background to start Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small?

    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.

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This course
Explain Like I'm 5

Quantum Physics: Rules of the Ultra-Small is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. 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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