Principal Sponsors
Makes grants to address the most serious social and environmental problems facing society, where risk capital, responsibly invested, may make a difference over time.
An independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science.
King Saud University seeks to become a leader in educational and technological innovation, scientific discovery and creativity through fostering an atmosphere of intellectual inspiration and partnership for the prosperity of society.
The O'Donnell Foundation is devoted to building model programs to enhance the quality of education.
Quantum Bound States
Explore the properties of quantum "particles" bound in potential wells. See how the wave functions and probability densities that describe them evolve (or don't evolve) over time.
|
Teaching Resources
Main Topics
- Quantum Particles
- Potential Wells
- Waves
- Probability Density
Sample Learning Goals
- Visualize wave functions, probability densities, and energy levels for bound states in various potentials.
- Describe how multiple representations used for wave functions relate to one another.
- Explain what is and is not time-dependent for an energy eigenstate and a superposition state.
- Predict how the curvature and amplitude of the wave function and the spacing of the energy levels depends on the shape of the potential and the mass of the particle.
- Gain an intuition for how band structure results in a lattice of many wells.
- Gain an intuition for how to go from the microscopic potential of a single atom to the macroscopic potential of a solid.
Tips for Teachers
The teacher's guide (pdf) contains tips created by the PhET team.
Teaching Ideas
| Title | Authors | Level | Type | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| potential well lab | Tim Paglione | UG-Adv | Lab | 11/3/09 |
| Spinometer | Chris Mounce | UG-Adv | Demo | 7/28/09 |
You can submit your own ideas and activities.
Translated Versions:
Software Requirements
| Windows | Macintosh | Linux |
|---|---|---|
|
Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7 Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later
|
OS 10.5 or later Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later
|
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later
|
Credits
| Design Team | Third-party Libraries | Thanks To |
|---|---|---|
|