quantum jump: Meaning and Definition of

quan'tum jump'

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. an abrupt transition of a system described by quantum mechanics from one of its discrete states to another, as the fall of an electron in an atom to an orbit of lower energy.
  2. any sudden and significant change, advance, or increase. Also called
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.