Developed by Jamie Lombardi (jlombard@alleg.edu), Physics Department, Allegheny College, Meadville PA, 16335.
Category: Physics (Quantum Mechanics)
Barrier examines the eigenfunctions of a stream of particles with energy E which are incident on a barrier of width a and height (in energy units) V. E, V and a can be adjusted by using parameter sliders or by typing the desired values in the appropriate text fields.
The particles approach the barrier from the left. Some are transmitted through the barrier while others are reflected. The fraction of reflected and transmitted particles is displayed. The wave function of the reflected particles interferes with the wave function of the incident particles.
Three separate graphs can be viewed. The top graph represents the real part of the wave function, the middle graph represents the imaginary part of the wave function, and the bottom graph represents the probability distribution of the particles. By checking the appropriate switches in the "What To Show" box, the user can choose exactly what is to be displayed.
The animation can be adjusted with the "Animation Speed" slider or stopped with the "Stop Animation" button. Once stopped, animation can be resumed simply by pressing the same button – which now is named "Start Animation."
Questions concerning the main points of this program can be displayed by choosing the "Questions..." menu item. The user can save answers in a notebook which can be opened under the "Answers" submenu.
"Barrier" is used in Quantum Physics and Quantum Chemistry at Allegheny College to help students learn about eigenfunctions, eigenvalues and energy spectrums.
This application was developed under NeXTstep release 2.0.
