ABSTRACT
With the advent of nanoscience, scientists are creating nanosys-
tems with ever reducing size scales. In some cases, such as
quantum dots with a diameter of a few nanometres, the num-
ber of atoms in these systems falls in the range of 100 to 100,000
atoms. As we approach the atomic scale, the quantum nature of
the nanosystems becomes dominant. Quantum physics encom-
passes those laws of physics we use to describe and predict the
properties of matter at the length scales of atoms and electrons.
An understanding of quantum physics is therefore important for
understanding the behaviour of the nanomaterials and nanode-
vices as their dimensions are reduced towards atomic sizes. The
main focus of this chapter is to describe some of the basic concepts
of quantum physics.
