Zero-point energy (ZPE) is the lowest possible energy that a quantum mechanical system may have. Unlike in classical mechanics, quantum systems constantly fluctuate in their lowest energy state as described by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. [1] Therefore, even at absolute zero, atoms and molecules retain some vibrational motion.

Schematic diagram showing the relationship between the zero-point energy and molecular mass for hydrogen, deuterium and HD. (Image by MIT OpenCourseWare.)

The energy level diagram for a simple harmonic oscillator shows the quantization of energy and the ground state (or lowest or zero point) energy. One of the most curious results of Quantum Mechanics is called tunneling.

2025年1月23日 · Zero-point energy results from principles of quantum mechanics, the physics of subatomic phenomena. Should the molecules ever come completely to rest, their component atoms would be precisely located and would simultaneously have precisely specified velocities, namely, of value zero.

2023年6月30日 · The residual energy of the ground state, that is, the energy in excess of the classical minimum, is known as zero point energy. In effect, the kinetic energy, hence the momentum, of a bound particle cannot be reduced to zero.

2020年9月4日 · In quantum mechanics, the zero-point energy is the lowest energy a particular system can have. That number doesn’t actually have to be zero, even for empty space.

2025年1月6日 · Zero-point energy (ZPE) represents one of the most fascinating and profound discoveries in modern physics. First identified by Max Planck in the early 1900s during his groundbreaking work on black-body radiation, ZPE reveals that even at absolute zero temperature, quantum systems retain a fundamental, irreducible amount of energy.

⋆ The one-loop vacuum diagrams such as (16) comprise the zero-point energy density E of the fields whose propagators run around the loop, or rather the ∆E due to masses of those fields being affected by their couplings to the VEVs.

2024年5月27日 · Quantum Zero Point Energy (ZPE) is the fundamental lowest energy state of a quantum system, persisting even at absolute zero temperature. This energy arises from the uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics, influencing phenomena like the Casimir effect and stability in atoms.

The vacuum state is associated with a zero-point energy, and this zero-point energy (equivalent to the lowest possible energy state) has measurable effects. It may be detected as the Casimir effect in the laboratory.