Section 9.8: Exploring Scattering and Barrier Width




Please wait for the animation to completely load.

Shown in the animation is a plane wave incident on a barrier in potential energy. Using the slider you can change the barrier width. By selecting either Animation 1 or Animation 2 you can view the animation with the energy of the plane wave below or above the barrier height, V0 = 10.  Shown in the table are the probability current densities and the transmission and reflection coefficients. In the animation, ħ = 2m = 1.

  1. For E < V0, what happens as the barrier width decreases?  What do you notice about how the wave function in the barrier behaves as a function of barrier width?  What do you notice about how the transmission coefficient behaves?
  2. For E > V0, what happens as the barrier width decreases?  What do you notice about how the wave function in the barrier behaves?  What do you notice about how the transmission coefficient behaves as a function of barrier width?

OSP Projects:
Open Source Physics - EJS Modeling
Tracker
Physlet Physics
Physlet Quantum Physics
STP Book