Some discontinuous potentials commonly used in quantum mechanics are briefly considered in order to highlight some unusual conclusions one may draw from the solutions of the associated Schrödinger equation. Classical analogs of these potentials are given; in particular, it is shown that a boundary condition necessary for the quantum system may have physical meaning of its own in the classical counterpart. A classical example of the Kronig–Penney model displaying the appearance of frequency bands, as opposed to the energy bands found in the quantum domain, is also discussed.
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© 1992 American Association of Physics Teachers.
1992
American Association of Physics Teachers
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