2015 BFY II Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: |
W39 - Quantum Analogs |
| Abstract: |
Students have trouble forming intuition about quantum mechanics, especially if partial differential equations are not their natural language. To help in conceptualization, TeachSpin offers a collection of apparatus and experiences in classical acoustics of air in confined volumes to teach analogies to quantum phenomena. By using acoustic experiments to display the solutions of a differential equation analogous to the Schrödinger Equation, students can see classical normal modes as the analogs of quantum eigenstates. Using a spherical resonator, they can see directly the spherical harmonics that are common to classical and quantum-mechanical problems in spherical systems. A one-dimensional array of acoustic modules provides hands-on analogs from particle-in-a-box to the behavior of semiconductors
Participants will:
• See the 'mode spectrum' of acoustic resonances in a spherical resonator by scanning over frequency
• Choose one mode, and explore its spherical-harmonic character
• Perturb that mode out of a sphere, and see frequency splittings
• Graduate to a periodic 1-d acoustic structure, and see acoustic bands and gaps
• Learn how 3 independent variables control 3 dependent variables in the band-gap pattern
• Manage to leave the room after using this highly addictive apparatus for only 40 minutes. |
| Abstract Type: |
Workshop
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Author/Organizer Information |
| Primary Contact: |
Barbara Wolff-Reichert
TeachSpin
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Co-Author(s)
and Co-Presenter(s) |
Jonathan Reichert, George Herold, David Van Baak, TeachSpin
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Workshop Documents |
| Workshop Doc 1: |
Download the Workshop Doc 1
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| Workshop Doc 2: |
Download the Workshop Doc 2
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