Title: Quantum Mechanics of Atoms
1Quantum Mechanics of Atoms
2The Wave Function and Its Interpolation
3In quantum mechanics the amplitude of a particle
wave is called the wave function and is given the
symbol Y.
4If we are dealing only with one photon At any
point the square of the electric field strength
is a measure of the probability that a photon
will be at that location.
5For a single particle Y2 at a certain point in
space and time represents the probability of
finding the electron at the given position and
time.
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7Important there is no way to predict where one
electron would hit the screen. We could predict
only probabilities.
8The main point of this discussion is this if we
treat electrons as if they were waves, then Y
represents the wave amplitude. If we treat them
as particles, then we must treat them on
probabilistic basis.
9The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
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11The act of observing produces a significant
uncertainty in either the position or the
momentum of electron.
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13Position uncertainty of a baseball
What is the uncertainty in position, imposed by
the uncertainty principle, of a 150-g baseball
thrown at 42-1 m/s? Should the umpire be
concerned? Can he use Heisenberg as an excuse?