Wave function and its probabilistic interpretation
Wave mechanics · Physics
Transverse wave
Interactive 3DA travelling wave ribbon. Raise the amplitude to make it taller, the frequency to make it faster.
Controls
Drag the sliders or type a value — the simulation updates live.
m
0.1m1m
Hz
0.5Hz3Hz
Study notes
A wave has amplitude 0.5 m and frequency 2 Hz. Its displacement is y = 0.5·sin(2π(2t − x)) metres. At t = 0, x = 0.125 m: y = 0.5·sin(−π/4) ≈ −0.35 m. One full oscillation takes T = 1/f = 0.5 s, and the pattern repeats every 1 m of x (the wavelength in these units).
Related topics
- Failure of classical physics: blackbody radiation, photoelectric effect
- Normalization of wave functions
- Operators in quantum mechanics (position, momentum, Hamiltonian)
- Schrödinger's time-dependent and time-independent equations
- Expectation values and Ehrenfest's theorem
- Particle in a one-dimensional box