zero-point energy

English

Etymology

Calque of German Nullpunktenergie.

Noun

zero-point energy (plural zero-point energies)

  1. (physics, quantum mechanics) The lowest possible energy of a given quantum mechanical system.
    The existence of a zero-point energy (i.e., the existence of a non-zero lower limit to the energy of a quantum-mechanical system) is a consequence of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.
    • 2000, Stephen T. Thornton, Andrew F. Rex, Modern Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Saunders College Publishing, page 205,
      Our estimate for the zero-point energy of the harmonic oscillator is Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "http://localhost:6011/en.wiktionary.org/v1/":): {\displaystyle \hbar\omega/2} .
  2. (physics, physical chemistry) The kinetic energy possessed by (the particle constituents of) a substance at absolute zero temperature.
    • 2004, Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, Volume 73, Pages 1-768, Physical Society of Japan, page 441:
      The calculated zero-point energies of hydrogen at inner bulk, GB, and FS are within 0.12-0.16eV/H.

Synonyms
  • ground state energy, zero-point radiation, ZPE
  • zero-point field

Translations

Further reading
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