Wave mechanics
Introduction
Basic Equation
The basic equation of wave mechanics is a function that describes the position of a particle as a function of time, where the function is wavelike, such as sine or cosine:
F(x,t) = Ψ = Asin(kx - ωt)
image showing sine on F,x and t 3d plot labelled with A, k and ω.
A = amplitude
k = 2π/λ
w = 2πf
So if given the amplitude, wavelength and frequency of a particle that was behaving in a sine fashion, its position could be calculated at a particular time on the t axis using this equation. It would also give the particle position as a function of time at a particular distance on the x axis. Both plots F vs. x and F vs. t would be cosine plots.
