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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kkmurray (talk | contribs) at 15:43, 10 April 2019 (Reverted 1 edit by 82.71.253.145 (talk) to last revision by DVdm (TW)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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Former featured articleQuantum mechanics is a former featured article. Please see the links under Article milestones below for its original nomination page (for older articles, check the nomination archive) and why it was removed.
Main Page trophyThis article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on August 1, 2004.
Article milestones
DateProcessResult
January 19, 2004Refreshing brilliant proseKept
May 28, 2006Featured article reviewDemoted
Current status: Former featured article


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Links to Wikibooks

I think all completed wikibooks shall be referenced on appropriate Wikipedia articles, at least the good ones. On this page, there is a link, on the left, to an unfinished wikibook on quantum mechanics. According to me, it shall be removed, because the book is unfinished. There are two completed wikibooks on quantum mechanics. I will add a reference to one of them, not to the other, because there would be a conflict of interest, since I am its author. --Thierry Dugnolle (talk) 07:17, 28 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Lead image caption

The lead image caption ends with the statement: The brighter areas represent a higher probability of finding an electron. But doesn't it have to read of finding the electron, since there is only one in a hydrogen atom? Sorry, if you should find this question silly – I'm not a physicist... Greetings--Hubon (talk) 00:53, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

PS: By the way, it might be useful to briefly explain what exactly we see in this picture – a computer simulation?--Hubon (talk) 00:59, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

There are only a few exact solutions to Schrödinger's equation; the hydrogen atom's electron orbitals is one of them (source: R.P. Feynman, my lecture notes). It's an exact picture of the electron's shape, at various excitations. A spherical shape would be the most common shape for an electron at the lowest energy state. The mathematical form of Schrödinger's equation is called a functional equation, a function of a function. I'm afraid you are going to have to give up the the electron part of your request. It helps to be relaxed about what you are seeing, when you are dealing with the uncertainty principle: (Briefly, if you zero in on a quantum-scale phenomenon, it will elude you, as your overt action will affect it). --Ancheta Wis   (talk | contribs) 10:29, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]
You can trap electrons, see Penning trap. --Ancheta Wis   (talk | contribs) 10:34, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]
You're right, Hubon, the caption should probably tell readers what they are looking at. "Wavefunction of the electron" would probably be better than "solution to Schrodinger's equation", although the term wavefunction is already in the picture. --ChetvornoTALK 15:06, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Chetvorno: Thanks for commenting. So, if I understand you correctly, we basically see the graph of a mathematical function here, right? By the way, how come I didn't receive an alert after you mentioned me here? @Ancheta Wis: Thanks to you, too, tough I have to admit that I can't quite follow, and I'm also not sure whether your post really answers my question whether, and if so, why the caption in question should still give the impression as if there were more than one electrons in a hydrogen atom. Please excuse me if I seem to be dense on this issue. Best--Hubon (talk) 17:16, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]
There would be one electron because a hydrogen atom, being electrically neutral, has one proton. --Ancheta Wis   (talk | contribs) 04:41, 5 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Hubon: I changed "a electron" to "the electron" in the caption; thanks for catching that. The picture is a computer-generated simulation, calculated from mathematical solutions to the Schrodinger equation, showing the electron's wavefunction, the probability of finding the electron at different locations around the atom's nucleus, for different amounts of energy. The electron in the hydrogen atom can absorb different discrete amounts of energy, called its energy levels. I think the top left image is the ground state, the lowest energy state which is the state a hydrogen atom is usually in. The other drawings show the atom at higher energy levels; the electron could be excited to these levels by absorbing a photon of light, for example. For each energy level the electron's wavefunction, also called an orbital, has a different shape, meaning the probability of finding the electron has a different distribution in space. In quantum mechanics, an alternate way of viewing these wavefunctions is that an electron is a wave circling the nucleus, and the different orbitals are standing waves, the way a guitar string or jumprope can vibrate in different standing wave patterns. --ChetvornoTALK 18:06, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Chetvorno: Thanks a lot for fixing that and clarifying the issue! I'm glad that finally my point is understood. Kind regards--Hubon (talk) 20:54, 5 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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The introduction

The introduction says/said that 'Quantum mechanics differs from classical physics in that energy, momentum, angular momentum and other quantities of a system are restricted to discrete values (quantization)'. However, many properties are only restricted to discrete values when the system is 'bounded' -- e.g. a free electron can have any energy and any momentum (on a continuous scale), while an electron bounded in an atom only can have discrete energy values.

I made a slight change in the introduction, changing 'system' to 'bounded system'. It makes the sentence a bit more difficult to read and understand, but since there's a separate article Introduction to quantum mechanics I judged for correctness in favour of readability in this article. Happy to discuss, though.

--Itangalo (talk) 09:28, 16 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The initial condition needs to be stated; your latest contribution appears to assume a distribution of masses, as in a neutron star merger. I agree it could happen quickly, in that case. --Ancheta Wis   (talk | contribs) 09:46, 16 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Itangalo: Thanks, but the literature seems to disagree:
Google Scholar Books
"quantum mechanics" "bound system" 3420 1410
"quantum mechanics" "bounded system" 539 116
I have undone your edit. I agree with the other edits. Cheers. - DVdm (talk) 09:50, 16 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Awesome. Thanks. --Itangalo (talk) 10:00, 16 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
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