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9277 #29

Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 8:56 am
by blackcat007
http://grephysics.net/ans/9277/29

well although i got this question, by studying griffith, but look what yousun wrote about choice C .. "it isn't continuous" but it is piecewise continuous, which is also acceptable for a wavefunction..

i am broaching this here, since due to some server reason i can't type in that site..

Re: 9277 #29

Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 10:32 am
by quizivex
blackcat007 wrote:but it is piecewise continuous, which is also acceptable for a wavefunction
Nah, it's only acceptable for the derivative of the wavefunction, if/when the potential goes to infinity. The wavefunction itself must always be continuous. Just to make sure, I looked it up...

Griffiths says:
"What are the appropriate boundary conditions for psi(x)? Ordinarily, both psi and (d/dx)psi are continuous, but where the potential goes to infinity, only the first of these applies."