Quantumleap42

As this is my 42nd post I thought I should comment on my name (or the name of my blog). Years ago I was looking for a good email address that I could use, I came across the idea of a quantum leap. A quantum leap is where a particle changes from one energy level to another instantaneously. This is the process that produces most, if not all, of the light we see. When the particle changes energy levels it has to absorb or release energy usually (always) in the form of a photon. When the particle is moving between allowed states, it must pass over a region of forbidden states, or energy levels. This means it must pass from where it is to where it ends up without "traveling" through the intervening "space". Because this was such a new concept they gave it a name and called it a quantum leap.

When I first applied for an email address the name quantumleap was unavailable so I tried quantumleap42, because 42 is the answer to life the universe and everything. It was only afterward that I learned about the TV show Quantum Leap. Because I did not have a TV growing up I never saw the show (though when I look back I realize that I had heard people talking about the show, I just never knew what it was so it never registered that there was a TV series called Quantum Leap). But inevitably the first thing everyone says when I tell them my email address (or the name of my blog) is "Oh! Like the TV show." Because of this I became curious and have since researched the show to know its story and I have even seen 1/2 of one episode. But despite most initial reactions, that is not where I got the name.