cresol Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 I can derive the equation, i know its main features for the electron in an atom. but i dnt know the physical meaning of the wave function of an atom and i cnt distinguish between the angular and radial probability function.....please help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdEarl Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 Your topic, "Problem with Schrodinger equation" made me think that you challenged Schrodinger as being incorrect, instead of your having a "Question about the Schrodinger equation." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cresol Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share Posted June 17, 2013 i cant challenge him........ he is more than i am...but thanks anyway. Your topic, "Problem with Schrodinger equation" made me think that you challenged Schrodinger as being incorrect, instead of your having a "Question about the Schrodinger equation." I can derive the equation, i know its main features for the electron in an atom. but i dnt know the physical meaning of the wave function of an atom and i cnt distinguish between the angular and radial probability function.....please help pls can you help?° Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajb Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 ...but i dnt know the physical meaning of the wave function of an atom and i cnt distinguish between the angular and radial probability function.....please help The physical meaning is as a probability distribution; [math]|\psi|^{2}[/math] is the probability density of finding a particle in a given place at a given time. All the physical information about the partice is "hidden" in the wave function. As for the second part, you mean you want to write the wave function as a radial part times a spherical harmonic? This will be well spelled out in any quantum mechanics book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiot Posted June 17, 2013 Share Posted June 17, 2013 If you can derive the equation you will know that it follows the Hamiltonian approach to mechanics, but introducing the quantum interpretation of momentum. This leads to a differential equation in the variation of a quantity we call [math]\Psi [/math] in space and time. Now, [math]\Psi [/math] is a complex quantity it is not real so has no physical reality. To obtain significance in the real world we multiply [math]\Psi [/math] by its complex conjugate and take the square root. This leads to a real number. If we normalise this by equating the integral over the entire space to 1 we obtain ajb's quantity such that we can interpret it as the probability of finding a particle between x and (x+dx) in one dimension. note [math]|\Psi | = \sqrt {\Psi {\Psi ^*}} [/math] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cresol Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share Posted June 17, 2013 thanks alot Studiot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enthalpy Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 ... is a complex quantity it is not real so has no physical reality... When a complex number represents the amplitude and phase of a sine wave, it has a strong reality and is concrete to many people, electronicians for instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiot Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 When a complex number represents the amplitude And how do you obtain the amplitude from this complex number? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now