wave function
5
8.0
- noun
- /weɪv ˈfʌŋkʃən/
- Specialized
:
función de onda
- The mathematical equations describing quantum mechanics permit us to determine precisely the evolution in time of any such wave function.
- collapse of the wave function
Boehm says that the wave function never collapses.
- Boehm says that the wave function never collapses.
- That's the infamous collapse of the wave function, of which more later.
- If you don't update the wave function, you'll get wrong probabilities.
- Well, there are many ways to interpret the wave function in quantum mechanics.
- OK, when you open the box, then the wave function collapses and the cat is alive.
- We need something which explains the collapse of a wave function.
- We add the wave function of the cat plus the wave function of a dead cat, and we add them together.
- In all these other cases, we are theorizing about things we can't observe, like fundamental particles or quantum wave functions.
- This means that it's wave function spreads into all directions.
- If observing something collapses wave function, Yes.
Examples
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I have a particle in a box whose wave function looks like this.
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And in fact, the wave function of the particle extends outside of the box.
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And the next wave function looks like this.
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This is the way the wave function changes is equal.
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But so the wave function gives you ways of doing both of those.
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What it tells you is how the wave function changes with angle.
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I calculated the wave function.
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Well, there are many ways to interpret the wave function in quantum mechanics.
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The electron's wave function spreads over many lattice sites.
Academic text (2006) -
The wave function of an electron describes its probability distribution in an atom.
Synonyms
2
8.2
A mathematical rule that shows where a very small particle is likely to be found and how it behaves
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun compound is compositionally interpretable — a B1 learner who knows 'wave' and 'function' can infer it is a function related to waves (i.e. a mathematical mapping describing wave behaviour). However, the precise sense as the formal quantum‑mechanical object that encodes a system's state is technical and requires domain knowledge, so the meaning is only partially predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Wave function in physics uses the image of a wave to show where a tiny particle might be spread out and how likely it is to be found. The function is the math rule that gives the 'chance' of finding the particle, so it means 'a formula that describes a particle's possible places'.