Explain what the Java Virtual Machine is and how it interacts with Java bytecode.

Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is a virtual machine that executes Java bytecode. When you compile a Java program, the source code is transformed into bytecode — an intermediate, platform-independent code. JVM loads this bytecode and executes it on a specific platform, ensuring portability.

JVM performs several key functions:

• Loading bytecode
• Security and correctness checks of bytecode
• Interpretation or compilation of bytecode into machine code (JIT compilation)
• Memory management (garbage collection)

Thus, JVM acts as an intermediary between bytecode and the hardware platform, allowing Java applications to run on different devices without changes to the source code.