Visual Quantum Mechanics

Prepared for Contemporary Physics by Dean Zollman, Wally Axmann, Bob Grabhorn, Carol Regehr, and Paul Donovan Spring, 1994
From Kansas State University:http://bluegiant.phys.ksu.edu/dvi/vqm/vqm.html

Visual Quantum Mechanics: Table of Contents

4. Probability Basics

An object's wavefunction is related to the probability of finding the object at a given location. A graph of the square of the wave function illustrates the range of locations accessible to the object and the probability of its being at each location within that range.

The total probability that the object is "somewhere" is 1. The area under a probability versus position curve must therefore equal 1. For this wavefunction

the probability of the object being somewhere between locations x1 and x2 is equal to the area under the probability curve (the square of the wavefunction) bounded by x1 and x2.:

Next: Potential and Kinetic Energy Diagrams -- Large Objects

Visual Quantum Mechanics: Table of Contents