Boundary force in an infinite square well
ID: boundary-force-in-an-infinite-square-well
For a normalized sufficiently regular solution of the Schrödinger equation on with Dirichlet walls, the instantaneous outward forces on the walls have magnitudesA wall displacement changes the kinetic-energy quadratic form by the boundary term , giving the local force. Equivalently, direct integration by parts in the time derivative of the mean particle momentum givesThe force on the particle is the opposite of the net force on the walls. For a stationary energy eigenstate each magnitude equals . For the equal superposition of the first two box states, writing and gives and . Both time averages equal , the classical mean force on one wall at that energy, even though the quantum forces vary continuously in time.
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