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PHY4604 R. D.

Field

The Infinite Square Well (1) ∞ ∞


One Dimensional Box

Particle in a One-Dimensional Box: Consider the n=1

solution of
h 2 d 2ψ ( x )
n=2

− + V ( x )ψ ( x ) = Eψ ( x ) , 0 0.5 1

2m dx 2
n=3

where
Ψ ( x, t ) = ψ ( x )e − iEt / h , 0 L

for the case V(x) = ∞ if x ≤ 0 and V(x) = ∞ if x ≥ L and V(x) = 0 for 0 < x <
L. For x ≤ 0 and x ≥ L we have
h2 d 2ψ ( x ) E
− 2
+ψ ( x) = ψ ( x ) V→ψ ( x ) = 0 .
→∞
2 mV ( x ) dx V ( x)
For 0 < x < L we have
d 2ψ ( x ) 2mE 2mE
= − ψ ( x ) = − k 2
ψ ( x ) where k = .
dx 2 h2 h2
The most general solution is
ψ ( x ) = Ae ikx + Be − ikx where A and B are constants.
Bounday Conditions: We require that ψ(x) be “square-integrable” and
that it be continuous and “single valued”. Thus at x = 0
ψ ( x = 0) = A + B = 0 and hence ψ ( x ) = A(e ikx − e − ikx ) = 2iA sin( kx ) .
At x = L we have
ψ ( x = L ) = 2iA sin( kL ) = 0 which implies that kL = nπ with n = 1, 2, 3,...
Energy Levels: We see that only certain values of k are allowed which
means that only the following energies are allowed: Energy Levels
h 2 k 2 h 2π 2 n 2 h 2π 2 n=3 E = 9E 3 0

En = = = n 2
E 0 where E 0 = .
2m 2mL2 2mL2
Zero Point Energy: Classically a particle in a box can have any n=2 E = 4E 2 0

velocity (including zero) and therefore zero energy (i.e. zero n=1 E =E 1 0

kinetic energy). However, in quantum mechanics the energies are


quantized and the lowest allowed energy is E0! This is a manifistation of the
uncertainty principle since the particle is localized within ∆x = L we have
∆px ≈ h /(2 L) and hence
p x2 h2
E= ≈
2m 8mL2
This is only an estimate the exact answer for the zero point energy is E0.

Department of Physics Chapter2_3.doc University of Florida

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