Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2019/section-b/8/a/solution
Past exam of the physics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Section B 8 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Use a stationary wavefunction solving the Time-independent Schrödinger equation. For energy above the positive step potential, the positive wavenumbers areIncidence only from the left permits a right-moving incident plane wave and a left-moving reflected plane wave for , but only a right-moving transmitted plane wave for :The omitted right-incident component would describe a different scattering experiment. Wavefunction matching at a finite potential step requires continuity of both and for a finite jump and the same mass on either side:Eliminate from the second condition:The first ratio is a transmission amplitude; a transmitted probability current also depends on its different propagation velocity.
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