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 Aug 21st 2017, 09:10 AM #1 Junior Member   Join Date: Aug 2017 Posts: 1 Super tricky thing i cant solve please help me! PLEASE HELP SOLVE THIS CRAZY RIDDLE. See picture attached. Attached Thumbnails
 Aug 21st 2017, 09:30 AM #2 Physics Team     Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Morristown, NJ USA Posts: 2,285 What exactly is the "riddle" you are trying to solve? You have a 2nd order differential equation in [math] \psi(x)\/math] - what are the two sketches meant to signify? How familiar are you with solving D.E.'s? For example, do you know how to find the solution to: $\displaystyle \frac {d^2y}{dx^2} + Ax = 0$ where A is a constant?
 Aug 21st 2017, 09:38 AM #3 Senior Member   Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Somerset, England Posts: 926 Looks like Schroedinger for the equation and sketch of the fundamental and first harmonic of 'particle in a box', taken with a mobile phone from a teachers whiteboard. But I agree, where is the conundrum?
Aug 21st 2017, 09:41 AM   #4
Physics Team

Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Boston's North Shore
Posts: 1,526
 Originally Posted by ChipB What exactly is the "riddle" you are trying to solve?
Good question. All I can gather from his page is that it appears to be Schrodinger's equation for a particle in a box. If so then we still have to follow forum rules and ask him to take some sort of stab at the problem. The forum rules aren't clear to me when the person is unable to make any steps toward a solution other than providing a hint, which I'll do now.

mattagg - This is Schrodinger's equation which I'm assuming you wish to solve for a particle in a box. Since you don't appear to have been able to get anywhere I can give you a hint. This is a diff-eq with the following boundary conditions.

Psi = 0 outside the box. Inside the box V = 0. The first and second derivatives must satisfy the boundary conditions of continuity of Psi.

If that isn't helpful then please explain what part of this you're having problems with. Have you ever taken a course in linear differential equations?

 Tags helium, solve, super, thing, tricky

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