The Schrödinger Wave Equation
The fundamental equation of <!g>quantum mechanics is the
Schrödinger Wave Equation - so-called because it takes a mathematical form
characteristic of classical wave equations. However,
the equation does not refer to physical waves but rather to probabilities, e.g.
the probability of finding an <!g>electron in one location rather than another.
The final outcome may be determinate (an electron in a particular location),
but the probability distribution of the possible outcomes has the mathematical
form of a wave. This peculiar feature of a very successful equation has led to
the intractable problem of how we should interpret the theory that emerged from
<!g>the quantum revolution. See Schrödinger’s Cat and the meaning of quantum theory.
Further discussion of the Schrödinger Wave Equation can be
found in <!g>John Polkinghorne’s largely non-technical book <!g>The Quantum World .
Email
link | Feedback | Contributed by: <!g>Dr.
Christopher Southgate
Source: God, Humanity and the
Cosmos (<!g>T&T Clark, 1999)
|
