Finite Square Well Videos.

In class we have discussed the nature of the electron bound states of a finite square well potential. Our favorite well is the 0.613 nm wide well with walls 16 eV high. In the first video I talk about the bound states of this well. The second and third videos show how these states are obtained from the Schrodinger (Wave) equation for this system.
         We will refer to finite wells quite a bit. Part of their appeal for us is that a finite well has bound state wave-functions that extend beyond the confining potential (with an evanescent form, i.e., exponentially decreasing to zero) into a region of flat potential (often chose to be zero). This is similar to the electron bound states of a hydrogen atom potential. It means that we can put 2 finite square wells close together to model a molecule and and explore the origins of molecular binding, which are deeply quantum. We can also examine the nature of quantum tunneling phenomena (from one well to another).
         The first video is mainly phenomenological (a long word which means we don't derive stuff, we just look at how it appears), so it is a bit less difficult than the 2nd and 3rd. The 2nd and 3rd videos examine how the quantum wave-functions and allowed bound-state energies are obtained.