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The needle on a broken car speedometer is free to swing, and bounces perfectly off the pins at either end, so that if you give it a flick it is equally likely to come to rest at any angle between 0 tox.

  1. What is the probability density? Hint: ÒÏ(θ)dθ is the probability that the needle will come to rest betweenθ andθ+dθ .
  2. Compute⟨θ⟩ ,⟨θ2⟩ , andσ , for this distribution.
  3. Compute⟨sinθ⟩ ,⟨cosθ⟩ , and⟨cos2θ⟩

Short Answer

Expert verified
  1. ÒÏ(θ)=1Ï€,for0⩽θ⩽π, ÒÏ(θ)=0otherwise
  2. ⟨θ⟩=π2, ⟨θ2⟩=π23,σ=π23
  3. ⟨sinθ⟩=2π, ⟨cosθ⟩=0, ⟨cos2θ⟩=12

Step by step solution

01

Making the probability equal to 1 to find the probability distribution

1=∫-∞∞ÒÏ(θ)dθ\hfill1=∫0Ï€ÒÏ(θ)dθ\hfill

It is clear from this integration that the integrand must be constant,

So,

ÒÏ(θ)=1Ï€,0⩽θ⩽π

ÒÏ(θ)=0,otherwise

The localid="1658292402403" ÒÏ(θ) for the graph is zero except in the interval localid="1658292406704" 0⩽θ⩽π

02

Finding the expectation value of  θ

Calculating the expectation values.

⟨θ⟩=∫-∞∞θÒÏ(θ)dθ⟨θ⟩=∫0πθ1Ï€dθ⟨θ⟩=1πθ220Ï€

⟨θ⟩=π2

03

Finding the expectation value of  θ2

Expectation value is given by,

⟨θ2⟩=∫-∞∞θ2ÒÏ(θ)dθ⟨θ2⟩=∫0πθ21Ï€dθ⟨θ2⟩=1πθ330π⟨θ2⟩=Ï€23

04

Calculating for the standard deviation

Standard deviation is given by,

σ=⟨θ2⟩-⟨θ⟩2σ=π23-π24σ=π23

05

Similarly we can calculate the expectation value for any function

For sinθ ,

⟨sinθ⟩=∫-∞∞sinθ.ÒÏ(θ)dθ⟨sinθ⟩=1π∫0Ï€sinθdθ⟨sinθ⟩=-1Ï€cosθ0π⟨sinθ⟩=2Ï€

For cosθ,

⟨cosθ⟩=∫-∞∞cosθÒÏ(θ)dθ

⟨cosθ⟩=1π∫0πcosθdθ⟨cosθ⟩=1πsinθ0π⟨cosθ⟩=0

And for cos2θ

⟨cosθ⟩=1π∫0πcosθdθ⟨cosθ⟩=1πsinθ0π⟨cosθ⟩=0

Since, cos2θ=12cos2θ+12

Therefore,

⟨cos2θ⟩=1π∫0π12cos2θ+12dθ

For the first integral, taking

2θ=u

Then,dθ=12dudθ=12du

And the bound of integration becomesθ→π,u→2πand asθ→0,u→0

⟨cos2θ⟩=12π∫02πcosudu+12π02π⟨cos2θ⟩=12πsinu02π+12⟨cos2θ⟩=0+12⟨cos2θ⟩=12

Hence the solution is :

ÒÏ(θ)=1Ï€,0≤θ≤π0otherwise⟨θ⟩=Ï€2,⟨θ2⟩=Ï€23,σ=Ï€23⟨sinθ⟩=2Ï€,⟨cosθ⟩=0,⟨cos2θ⟩=12.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

A particle of mass m is in the state:

ψ(x,t)=Ae−a[(mx2/h)+it]

where A and a are positive real constants.

(a) Find A.

(b) For what potential energy function, V(x), is this a solution to the Schrödinger equation?

(c) Calculate the expectation values of x,x2 , p, andp2 .

(d) Find σx and σp. Is their product consistent with the uncertainty principle?

Why can’t you do integration-by-parts directly on the middle expression in Equation -1.29 pull the time derivative over onto x, note that∂x/∂t=0 , and conclude thatd<x>/dt=0 ?

Consider the first 25 digits in the decimal expansion of π (3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, . . .).

(a) If you selected one number at random, from this set, what are the probabilities of getting each of the 10 digits?

(b) What is the most probable digit? What is the median digit? What is the average value?

(c) Find the standard deviation for this distribution.

Consider the Gaussian distribution

ÒÏ(x)=Ae−λ(x−a)2

where A, a, and λ are positive real constants. (Look up any integrals you need.)

(a) Use Equation 1.16 to determine A.

(b) Find〈x〉,〈x2〉,and σ.

(c) Sketch the graph of ÒÏ(x).

Question: Let pab(t)be the probability of finding a particle in the range (a<x<b),at time t.

(a)Show that

dpabdt=j(a.t)-j(b,t),

Where

j(x,t)≡ih2m(ψ∂ψ*∂x-ψ*∂ψ∂x)

What are the units of j(x,t)?

Comment: j is called the probability current, because it tells you the rate at which probability is "flowing" past the point x. Ifpab(t) is increasing, then more probability is flowing into the region at one end than flows out at the other.

(b) Find the probability current for the wave function in Problem 1.9. (This is not a very pithy example, I'm afraid; we'll encounter more substantial ones in due course.)

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