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The case of a particle in a one-dimensional ring is an instructive example when studying the quantization of angular momentum for, say, an electron orbiting the nucleus. The azimuthal wave functions in that case are identical to the energy eigenfunctions of the particle on a ring.
If a particle is confined to the motion of an entire ring ranging from 0 to , the particle is subject only to a periodic boundary condition (see particle in a ring). If a particle is confined to the motion of − π 2 {\textstyle -{\frac {\pi }{2}}} to π 2 {\textstyle {\frac {\pi }{2}}} , the issue of even and odd parity becomes important.
However the total energy of the particle E and its relativistic momentum p are frame-dependent; relative motion between two frames causes the observers in those frames to measure different values of the particle's energy and momentum; one frame measures E and p, while the other frame measures E ′ and p ′, where E ′ ≠ E and p ′ ≠ p ...
The particle in a one-dimensional potential energy box is the most mathematically simple example where restraints lead to the quantization of energy levels. The box is defined as having zero potential energy inside a certain region and infinite potential energy outside .
Though our starting example was the harmonic oscillator, all the math up to this point has been completely general for a particle subject to a conservative force. This formula can be generalized for any one-dimensional physical system by plugging in the corresponding potential energy function.
Some trajectories of a particle in a box according to Newton's laws of classical mechanics (A), and according to the Schrödinger equation of quantum mechanics (B–F). In (B–F), the horizontal axis is position, and the vertical axis is the real part (blue) and imaginary part (red) of the wave function.
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Hydrogen atomic orbitals of different energy levels. The more opaque areas are where one is most likely to find an electron at any given time. In quantum mechanics, a spherically symmetric potential is a system of which the potential only depends on the radial distance from the spherical center and a location in space.