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Quantum Mechanics of Atoms. The Wave Function and Its Interpolation. In quantum mechanics the amplitude of a particle wave is called the wave function and is given the symbol Y. If we are dealing only with one photon:
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In quantum mechanics the amplitude of a particle wave is called the wave function and is given the symbol Y.
If we are dealing only with one photon: At any point the square of the electric field strength is a measure of the probability that a photon will be at that location.
For a single particle: Y2 at a certain point in space and time represents the probability of finding the electron at the given position and time.
Important: there is no way to predict where one electron would hit the screen. We could predict only probabilities.
The main point of this discussion is this: if we treat electrons as if they were waves, then Y represents the wave amplitude. If we treat them as particles, then we must treat them on probabilistic basis.
The act of observing produces a significant uncertainty in either the position or the momentum of electron.
Position uncertainty of a baseball What is the uncertainty in position, imposed by the uncertainty principle, of a 150-g baseball thrown at 42+-1 m/s? Should the umpire be concerned? Can he use Heisenberg as an excuse?