Fundamentals of Physics Extended (10th Edition)

Published by Wiley
ISBN 10: 1-11823-072-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-11823-072-5

Chapter 39 - More about Matter Waves - Problems - Page 1215: 15b

Answer

$0.10$

Work Step by Step

The normalized wavefunction $\psi_n(x)$ for an electron in an infinite, one-dimensional potential well with length $L$ along an $x$ axis are given by $\psi_n(x)=\sqrt {\frac{2}{L}}\sin\Big(\frac{n\pi}{L}x\Big),\;\;\;\text{for}\;n=1,2,3....,$ where $n$ is the quantum number. Now, the probability that the electron will be detected in the interval between $x$ and $x+dx$ inside of this well is given by $p(x)=\psi^2_n(x)dx$ or, $p(x)={\frac{2}{L}}\sin^2\Big(\frac{n\pi}{L}x\Big)dx$ In our case, the electron trapped in the potential well having $L=100\;pm$ is in its ground state $(n=1)$. The electron can be detected in an interval of width $\Delta x=5.0\;pm$. The interval $\Delta x$ is so narrow that we can take the probability density to be constant within it. Therefore, the probability of finding electron in an interval $\Delta x=5.0\;pm$ centered at $x=50\;pm$ is $p(50)={\frac{2}{100\;pm}}\sin^2\Big(\frac{\pi}{100}50\Big)5\;pm=0.10$
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