Quantum mechanics is the study of the tiniest components of matter and energy. The components of matter are the tiny bits inside the atom: protons, neutrons, electrons, etc. The components of energy are, in the case of light, photons. Other types of energy have other components. These components follow laws different to those of everyday objects like tables and chairs;. For example, they can influence each other at great distances faster than the speed of light. They can also act as though they fill all of a space, that is, are everywhere at once. They operate as if they were vibrations in a different reality that underlies the reality that our senses are aware of.

We can’t see the tiniest components of matter and energy. Our eyes cannot perceive the quantum level of reality. Nor do we have microscopes sufficiently powerful. But this animation is suggestive of how such components might look if we could see them.