QEDn.2
Physics.
Quantum electrodynamics.
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the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > quantum electrodynamics > [noun]
quantum electrodynamics1927
QED1969
1969 Physics Bull. June 223/2 The energy splitting between the 2S½ and 2P½ states of the hydrogen atom—the Lamb shift—..arises entirely from higher order effects in qed.
1990 R. Morris Edges of Sci. iii. viii. 150 Renormalization is a mathematical technique that was developed to deal with infinite masses, and with other infinite quantities that crop up in QED, and render them innocuous.
2001 R. Gregory in R. Catlow & S. Greenfield Cosmic Rays 57 When there are just a few photons detected by counters, the probabilities of where a photon will go are represented in QED as arrows in Feynman diagrams.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2020).
Q.E.D.int.n.1
/ˌkjuːiːˈdiː/, U.S. /ˌkjuˌiˈdi/ A. int.
‘Which was to be demonstrated’: placed at the end of a mathematical proof (originally, one in Euclid) to indicate that a previously stated theorem is thereby proved; (in extended use) used to convey that a fact or situation demonstrates the truth of a person’s theory or claim. Cf. quod erat demonstrandum int.
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the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > logical argument > [phrase] > types of argument
ad hominem1588
Q.E.D.1614
ex pede Herculem1665
1614 W. Bedwell De Numeris Geometricis ii. 25 Therefore the products of 12 by 2, and of 6 by 4, are equall. q. e. d.
1686 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 16 13 At the several Elevations, the ranges are as the sines of the double Angles of Elevation. Q.E.D.
1705 Philos. Trans. 1704–05 (Royal Soc.) 24 1962 Whereas Every Interval is terminated by two adjacent things, if to any number of things, be added one thing more, one Interval only is thereby added. Q.E.D.
1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy II. xix. 168 If..people can walk about and do their business without brains,—then certes the soul does not inhabit there. Q.E.D.
1818 T. Moore Fudge Family in Paris ii. 18 The argument's quite new, you see, And proves exactly Q.E.D.
1892 S. Grundy Haddon Hall i. 20 Tho' the world be bad, It's the best to be had; And therefore, Q. E. D., Tho' it mayn't suit you,..It's a good enough world for me.
1929 Times 5 Mar. 5/2 The case for the Crown's claim therefore fails. Q.E.D.
1984 H. F. Cohen Quantifying Music iii. 106 The total effect of this is to make the major third altogether more consonant than the fourth, q.e.d.
2007 Scotl. on Sunday (Nexis) 2 Sept. (Business ed.) 9 QED, those in poorer areas, with a shorter life expectancy, deserve to get more when they retire on the basis that their pension will not be paid as long.
B. n.1
A statement or use of the formula ‘Q.E.D.’; a conclusive demonstration of something; a justification. Cf. quod erat demonstrandum n.
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1815 New Monthly Mag. Dec. 396/1 Surely a limit is something; and if 0 is a limit, and a limit is something, then 0=something; and there is a Q.E.D. for Philomath in return for his own.
1861 Sat. Rev. 22 June 630 There are ‘demonstrations’, the Q.E.D. of which is not always very easy to see.
1932 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 Jan. 1/3 Matisse, with his frugal presentation of purely aesthetic values to a purely aesthetic appetite, appears to be the Q.E.D. of French painting as looked at in perspective.
1997 T. Petsinis French Mathematician (1998) iv. 29 A proof doesn't lie in the final QED but in the process that leads to it.
2006 Church Times 17 Nov. 19/1 But life is not like that. There are no QEDs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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