Video URL
https://pirsa.org/08080086Quantum Mechanics 11 - De Broglie Waves Are Complex
APA
Epp, R. (2008). Quantum Mechanics 11 - De Broglie Waves Are Complex. Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. https://pirsa.org/08080086
MLA
Epp, Richard. Quantum Mechanics 11 - De Broglie Waves Are Complex. Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Aug. 16, 2008, https://pirsa.org/08080086
BibTex
@misc{ scivideos_PIRSA:08080086, doi = {}, url = {https://pirsa.org/08080086}, author = {Epp, Richard}, keywords = {}, language = {en}, title = {Quantum Mechanics 11 - De Broglie Waves Are Complex}, publisher = {Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics}, year = {2008}, month = {aug}, note = {PIRSA:08080086 see, \url{https://scivideos.org/index.php/pirsa/08080086}} }
Richard Epp University of Waterloo
Talk numberPIRSA:08080086
Source RepositoryPIRSA
Collection
Abstract
The de Broglie waves we have been using thus far were assumed to be real functions; we discuss why this is wrong and how to fix the problem.Learning Outcomes:
• Understanding why there is a serious flaw with using real de Broglie waves, and how using a complex wave (one with both a real and an imaginary part) solves the problem.
• Understanding how the de Broglie wave corresponding to a free particle is like a moving corkscrew, with a magnitude that is uniform across space and constant in time.
• When right- and left-travelling de Broglie waves (“corkscrews”) are added, as happens for a particle in a box, we get a complex standing wave whose magnitude is constant in time.