Quantum physics tells us that particles behave differently depending on how – or if – we look at them. So what does that mean for our idea of reality? | ABC Science

Quantum mechanics originated from Max Planck's attempt to solve the black body radiation problem—how ideal objects emit electromagnetic radiation. Classical physics predicted infinite energy at high frequencies (the "ultraviolet catastrophe"), but experiments showed radiation peaks and then falls. Planck resolved this by proposing that energy is quantized in discrete units of hf (frequency times Planck’s constant), introducing the concept of energy quantization and the foundation of quantum mech