How Does Quantum Help Us Understand Chemistry?

We talked before about how the word “quantum” often appears alongside the word
“physics,” but that quantum science is also important to fields like chemistry. Is quantum science used in chemistry?


That’s a great question! A lot of people learn about chemistry in school without understanding that quantum science lies at the heart of how and why atoms stick together to form molecules and materials. For example, consider the simplest and smallest atom, hydrogen. If you have a bottle filled with just hydrogen gas, the hydrogen atoms in the bottle aren’t bouncing around by themselves; they like to pair up with each other to make hydrogen molecules.

Yes, that’s the difference between a hydrogen atom and a hydrogen molecule; the molecules are paired-up atoms. The same thing is true of oxygen, too, isn’t it?

That’s right—oxygen in the air around us that we breathe are bound together in pairs. In addition to hydrogen atoms sticking together and oxygen atoms sticking together, you can also get combinations of hydrogen and oxygen atoms.

I know one: water! H₂O—two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom form chemical bonds with each other to make one water molecule.

Exactly. There’s one other compound you can make out of hydrogen and oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, which is a combination of two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms, H₂O₂, and is used to bleach things, like paper, to make them white. This compound isn’t as stable as water; in fact, over time, it tends to fall apart, and any other combination you make of hydrogen and oxygen will quickly fall apart.

Why is this? Why does one oxygen atom like to stick to exactly two hydrogen atoms and not just one, three, or seven? Why do oxygen atoms like to pair up with each other rather than be apart or in groups of three or some other number?

These are excellent questions that have puzzled chemists for many years. Elements like hydrogen and oxygen were first isolated and named in the late 1700s. The 1800s saw the development of the idea that all compounds were whole-number combinations of chemical atoms; however, a mystery remained as to why certain combinations of atoms were allowed and others seemed forbidden.

So, did it just seem random which combinations worked and which ones didn’t?

Not at all. From doing experiments and combining elements, chemists noticed certain patterns about how atoms combined. For example, when the elements were organized into the periodic table according to similar chemical behavior, the fact that there are eight elements in the second row matched up with the observation that elements along this row liked to make a certain number of bonds depending on their position in the row. For example, carbon, which is the 4th element in the row, likes to make four bonds; nitrogen, which is the 5th element, likes to make three bonds; oxygen, which is the 6th element, likes to make two bonds; fluorine, which is the 7th element, likes to make one bond; and neon, which is the last element in the row, doesn’t like bonding to anything.

So oxygen, in the 6th position, likes to make bonds with two hydrogens to make water. I see the pattern you’re talking about: 6 + 2 = 8. Why eight?

This is exactly the question chemists were pondering at the start of the 20th century. There was clearly some reason behind this rule of eight, or “octet rule,” but no one understood where this eight came from. One interesting idea was that a cube had eight corners, so maybe there was something cubical about atoms that made them want to have one electron at each corner of the cube, which they could achieve by sharing electrons. But there was no evidence that there was anything cubical about the arrangement of electrons in atoms, so that model wasn’t the solution to the puzzle about the rule of eight.

So what did solve the puzzle, then?


Quantum mechanics! Almost as soon as quantum mechanics was developed, starting one hundred years ago, scientists saw how applying it to the problem of how atoms were structured—a positively charged nucleus attracting electrons to it—led directly to the patterns of the periodic table. It explained not only the rule of eight, but all sorts of other rules for how and why atoms chemically bond together. Soon, chemists not only had a quantum understanding of why oxygen likes to bond to two hydrogens to form water, but also used quantum science to find rules governing chemical combinations, compounds, and bonds that they hadn’t previously understood.

But how did quantum mechanics explain this rule of eight?


Remember that the “quantum” in quantum mechanics means something you can count. A hallmark of quantum science is showing how there are sometimes countable aspects to things that don’t seem on the surface like there’s anything there to count. In the case of atoms and bonds, the attractions and repulsions of electrons and nuclei seemed like a problem where there wouldn’t be anything countable about the possible arrangements of the electrons and the bonds they form. It was only with a quantum understanding of the wave-like nature of electrons that the hidden counting of these arrangements was revealed.

So, thinking about it, every single bond between every single atom, holding together all the materials and objects, is governed and described by quantum mechanics.

Exactly, not only all the things around us, but us as well! We wouldn’t understand how the atoms in our bodies stick together without quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics solved some of the mysteries from a century ago about how simple compounds work, but even today, researchers are actively using quantum mechanics to reveal how more complicated materials and molecules work – including many of the ones that make up you and me.









Written by Paul Cadden-Zimansky, Associate Professor of Physics at Bard College and a Global Coordinator of IYQ.

IYQ mascot, Quinnie, was created by Jorge Cham, aka PHD Comics, in collaboration with Physics Magazine
All rights reserved.

Illustrations: Solmar Varela

Featured image: Electronics factory worker, Cikarang, Indonesia © ILO/Asrian Mirza

National Science Seminar

National Science Seminar 2025, a flagship event of the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), will be held on 30th October 2025 at the Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum (VITM), Bengaluru, India. This year’s theme is “The Quantum Age Begins: Potentials and Challenges.” The seminar aims to inspire young minds and prepare them to contribute towards positioning India as a leader in the rapidly emerging field of quantum technologies.

UNESCO International Year of Quantum Symposium

On September 19, Columbia University will welcome experts from industry and academia who will share their insights into recent quantum research and the development of emerging quantum technologies.

Quantum Meets Arts | Opening of the Quantum Festival in Ulm

The opening event of the Ulm Quantum Festival offers an entertaining evening on the topic of “Quantum & Art” for all those interested in science and art, featuring lectures, a panel discussion, and interactive exhibits. In particular, an art exhibition will be opened as part of the national DPG project “Quantum meets Arts.”

QDay Italia

QDAY è la prima comunità italiana dedicata a prevenire il Quantum Day attraverso progetti sostenibili e rigenerativi per l’Italian Quantum System.

Come posso partecipare attivamente a QDAY?

Puoi unirti iscrivendoti al nostro sito e contribuendo con idee e proposte innovative sostenibili per il Mercato Unico Quantistico Europeo.

Quali sono i benefici di far parte di QDAY?

Accesso a risorse esclusive, networking con esperti e possibilità di sviluppare progetti unici ed esclusivi per la quantum humanity.

Il Quantum Day è una minaccia reale?

Sì, per questo lavoriamo insieme e cerchiamo intelligenze connettive per anticipare e mitigare i possibili impatti.
Presto sarà organizzato il primo QDay Italia evento di edutainmnet in lingua italiana per gli italiani per lo sviluppo del modello divulgativo-scientifico coerente con principi guida IYQ :

  • Aumentare la consapevolezza pubblica dell’importanza della scienza quantistica e delle sue applicazioni,
  • Rafforzare la cooperazione scientifica internazionale, multilaterale e interdisciplinare tra istituti di ricerca, ricercatori e innovatori nella scienza e nella tecnologia quantistica, e/o
  • Garantendo un focus sull’applicazione della scienza e della tecnologia quantistica per lo sviluppo sostenibile.

Quantum Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

When was the last time you fell down a rabbit hole on Wikipedia? How about one on quantum?

Join the University of Maryland, in collaboration with Wikimedia DC and the UMD Undergraduate Quantum Association, at its Quantum Wiki Edit-a-thon on September 30th, 2025. Supported by the National Science Foundation, the edit-a-thon will bring students together to edit Wikipedia articles to increase coverage of quantum science and scientists.

This in-person event is open to all, and no prior background is needed – just a desire to contribute! Refreshments will be provided.

Quantum Enabling Technologies Workshop (QETw 2025)

The Quantum Enabling Technologies Workshop (QETw) will take place on November 13, 2025, at iXcampus in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. This unique event brings together companies, start-ups, research laboratories, and public stakeholders to explore enabling quantum technologies and their role in driving industrialization and collaboration.

Organized by Systematic Paris Region, Europe’s leading Deep Tech cluster, and its Quantum Hub, QETw is fully embedded in the cluster’s mission to foster innovation, accelerate technology transfer from research to industry, and strengthen its position within European and international initiatives. The Quantum Hub plays a pivotal role in connecting academic and industrial players, shaping collaborative projects, and supporting the growth of a competitive quantum ecosystem.

The program is structured around two main moments. The morning plenary session will feature strategic keynote talks, insights from collaborative projects, and a roundtable addressing public policies, funding opportunities, and industrialization challenges. In the afternoon, thematic matchmaking workshops will provide a space to transform ideas into concrete projects and partnerships, with dedicated sessions on integrated photonics, quantum software and algorithms, sensors and instrumentation, cryogenics and packaging, as well as funding mechanisms.

Beyond scientific and technological discussions, QETw is designed as a platform for meaningful encounters and long-term cooperation. Campus tours and a closing networking cocktail will further enhance opportunities for exchange and collaboration.

Registration page

Quantum Is Everywhere

A seminar to discuss the deep impact of quantum applications on our society and the creative inspiration that quantum paradoxes suggest in contemporary arts.

Quantum Physics Beyond the Himalayas

Nepal Physical Society Gandaki Chapter (NPS-G) has been organizing different programs to celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology to create a quantum science awareness program in Mustang, a remote region in Nepal surrounded by the Himalayas. NPS-G has planned various physics-related programs, including seminars, workshops, talks, schools, and training sessions, regularly.

Nepal Physical Society Gandaki Chapter [NPS-G] is a wing organization of Nepal Physical Society, Kathmandu, Nepal, with its working station at Pokhara, one of the most beautiful cities. The Society at Pokhara was established in 2008.

VIII Congreso Nacional de Ingeniería Física y III International Applied Physics, Engineering, and Innovation Conference

This year, 2025, we celebrate 30 years of the physics engineering program in Colombia. Three decades dedicated to shaping curious, creative minds capable of transforming the world through applied science. Moreover, this year we also commemorate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. In this context, we are pleased to welcome you to the 8th National Congress of Physics Engineering and the 3rd Applied Physics, Engineering, and Innovation Conference (APEIC), to be held in the city of Popayán, where the program was founded at the University of Cauca.

This is a space to share knowledge, connect ideas, and build solutions. Here, students, researchers, professors, and professionals from across the country will gather, united by a common passion: physics, engineering, and innovation. You will find keynote talks by experts in different fields of physics, specialized workshops, and networking opportunities that will foster collaboration and the exchange of knowledge.