quantum jump

English

Noun

quantum jump (plural quantum jumps)

1. Synonym of quantum leap
   • 1995, Richard Rhodes, chapter 19, in Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb:

     In Italy on a long summer leave, William [T.] Golden had a different response: […] But one thing I wrote him was, "We, the USA, should intensify our efforts toward development of superweapons. […] A quantum jump in intensity is called for as a matter of urgency comparable in every way to the wartime Manhattan Project." […] [Lewis L.] Strauss liked the phrase "quantum jump" and the idea of a new Manhattan Project. He began to compose a memorandum. […] Instead, echoing Golden, Strauss proposed [on October 5, 1949]: It seems to me that the time has now come for a quantum jump in our planning (to borow a metaphor from our scientist friends)—that is to say, that we should now make an intensive effort to get ahead with the super [a.k.a. the H-bomb].

Further reading

• atomic electron transition on Wikipedia.Wikipedia