ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Lippmann–Schwinger equation

The Lippmann-Schwinger equation is a really big and complicated math problem that helps scientists understand how particles (like atoms, for example) interact with each other when they're really close together.

Imagine you have two basketballs and you want to see what happens when they hit each other. You could just throw them at each other and watch what happens, but that wouldn't give you a lot of information about what's happening on a really small scale. That's where the Lippmann-Schwinger equation comes in.

It's kind of like a rulebook that tells you how the basketballs interact with each other based on all sorts of complicated factors, like how fast they're moving, how big they are, and what they're made of. By using this rulebook, scientists can make really accurate predictions about what will happen when the basketballs hit each other, even if they can't actually see it happening.

Now, instead of basketballs, scientists are looking at tiny particles like electrons and protons. The Lippmann-Schwinger equation helps them understand how these particles interact when they're really close together, which can help us make new discoveries about the world around us.