From David Coker
Although like John Cooke I am proud to be a pedant (8 August, p 25), I have no problem with James Dyson’s use of the phrase “quantum leap” (11 July, p 20) to imply a large progressive step.
The novel aspect of a quantum of energy, when the concept was introduced to physics just over a century ago, was its indivisibility, rather than its intrinsic size. Thus a quantum leap is one which must be accomplished in a single step, rather than as a series of intermediate steps.
It is typically sudden or abrupt, and may well also be large.
Ledbury, Herefordshire, UK
