quanta
/ˈkwɑːn.tə/
NOUN
1. Amounts or quantities
Plural amounts or measurable quantities of something, referring to how much of a substance, material, or other measurable thing is present or available.
1.1. Measurable amounts and quantities
Refers to multiple measurable amounts, portions, or quantities of something, especially when comparing or describing how much is present.
Synonyms
- amounts
- quantities
- measures
- volumes
- portions
- sums
- totals
Examples
- The researchers measured the quanta of material released during the reaction.
- Different quanta of energy were supplied to the experimental system.
Related Words
- quantity
- measurement
- magnitude
- volume
- proportion
- extent
NOUN
2. Discrete or indivisible units
Multiple distinct, finite units of a physical quantity, especially the smallest amounts in which energy or other phenomena can exist or be exchanged.
2.1. Quantum physics and energy packets
Refers to discrete units of energy or other physical quantities, such as photons, that are treated as indivisible packets in quantum theory.
Synonyms
Examples
- The experiment examined how quanta of light interact with matter.
- Quantum mechanics describes energy exchanges in discrete quanta rather than continuous amounts.
Related Words
2.2. Computing time slices
Refers to fixed units of processor time allocated to individual threads or processes in a multitasking operating system.
Synonyms
- time slices
- time units
- processing intervals
- time slots
Examples
- The operating system assigned equal quanta of processor time to the competing threads.
- Shorter quanta can improve responsiveness when many processes are waiting to execute.
Related Words
- time quantum
- thread
- process
- CPU scheduling
- processor time
- multithreading