Can a particle be at rest according to quantum mechanics?
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Can a particle be at rest according to quantum mechanics?
1) For a particle to be at rest, we would know its momentum and therefore by Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, the uncertainty in its position would be infinite. Is this acceptable? 2) λ=h/p=h/0⟹λ→∞ which is not possible.
Can a particle ever be at rest?
If a particle has no mass (m = 0) and is at rest (p = 0), then the total energy is zero (E = 0). But an object with zero energy and zero mass is nothing at all. Therefore, if an object with no mass is to physically exist, it can never be at rest. But light is not the only massless object.
Why can particles in a box never be at rest?
Explanation: If the particle in a box has zero energy, it will be at rest inside the well and it violates the Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. Thus, the minimum energy possessed by a particle is not equal to zero. The particle can never be at rest, as it will violate Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle.
What is the fundamental assumption behind quantum mechanics?
In a particular representation and applied to a system consisting of a single, structure-less particle the fundamental assumptions of Quantum Mechanics are: The quantum state of a particle is characterized by a wave function Ψ(r,t), which contains all the information about the system an observer can possibly obtain.
Which particle is never at rest?
Explanation: if the particle in a box has zero energy, it will be at rest inside the well and it violates the heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. thus, the minimum energy possessed by a particle is not equal to zero.
How free particles behave in classical and quantum mechanics?
In classical physics, this means the particle is present in a “field-free” space. In quantum mechanics, it means the particle is in a region of uniform potential, usually set to zero in the region of interest since the potential can be arbitrarily set to zero at any point in space.
Is anything truly at rest?
No. Being in a state of perfect rest would mean being at temperatures of absolute zero, which is made impossible by the thermodynamics. You cannot win- you can not get something for nothing because matter and energy are conserved.
When particle is trapped in an infinite potential well particle has to do?
Inside the well there is no potential energy, and the particle is trapped inside the well by “walls” of infinite potential energy. This has solutions of E=∞, which is impossible (no particle can have infinite energy) or ψ=0. Since ψ=0, the particle can never be found outside of the well.
Do quantum particles have mass?
Quantum fields are similar to more familiar fields, like electric and magnetic fields. The short range of the weak nuclear force implied that its corresponding particles had mass, in contrast with the massless photon, the particle associated with electromagnetic fields.
Which phenomenon Cannot be explained by classical mechanics?
Classical mechanics was unable to explain certain phenomena: black body radiation, the photoelectric effect, the stability of atoms and molecules as well as their spectra. Quantum mechanics, created mainly by Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger, explained these effects.