Phase factor in quantum mechanics

AI Thread Summary
Complex numbers of the form e^{iθ} have an absolute value (modulus) of 1 due to their representation on the unit circle in the complex plane. The norm of a complex number z can be calculated using its complex conjugate z*, leading to the conclusion that the modulus remains constant at 1 regardless of the angle θ. This is derived from the fact that any complex number can be expressed as re^{iθ}, where r is the modulus. The discussion emphasizes that this property is fundamental and elementary in quantum mechanics. Understanding this concept is crucial for grasping the phase factor in quantum mechanics.
Shreya
Messages
187
Reaction score
64
Homework Statement
I watched a lecture in which the professor called the circle expression as a pure phase and took its absolute value to be 1. I don't understand how it's absolute value is 1.
Please refer the image for the circled expression.
Relevant Equations
Wave function at x,t
Please be kind to help.I would be grateful
IMG_20211112_125534~2.jpg
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Any complex number of the form ##e^{i\theta}## has absolute value (modulus) ##1##.
 
Can you please explain why is it so?
 
Shreya said:
Can you please explain why is it so?
The norm of a complex number can be calculated using the number ##z## and ##z^*=\bar{z}## the complex conjugate.
So, given ##z=e^{i\theta}, \quad \theta \in \mathbb{R}##, you should be able to compute ##z^*## and its norm.
You will see that the norm is 1 independent on ##\theta##.
 
  • Like
Likes Shreya and PeroK
Shreya said:
Can you please explain why is it so?
Any complex number can be written ##re^{i\theta}##, where ##r## is the modulus and ##\theta## is the angle in the complex plane. That's fairly elementary, I'm sorry to say!
 
Thanks a lot 🙏 Pero K and Gaussian97! It helped a lot. 🙂
 
Thread 'Variable mass system : water sprayed into a moving container'
Starting with the mass considerations #m(t)# is mass of water #M_{c}# mass of container and #M(t)# mass of total system $$M(t) = M_{C} + m(t)$$ $$\Rightarrow \frac{dM(t)}{dt} = \frac{dm(t)}{dt}$$ $$P_i = Mv + u \, dm$$ $$P_f = (M + dm)(v + dv)$$ $$\Delta P = M \, dv + (v - u) \, dm$$ $$F = \frac{dP}{dt} = M \frac{dv}{dt} + (v - u) \frac{dm}{dt}$$ $$F = u \frac{dm}{dt} = \rho A u^2$$ from conservation of momentum , the cannon recoils with the same force which it applies. $$\quad \frac{dm}{dt}...
Thread 'Minimum mass of a block'
Here we know that if block B is going to move up or just be at the verge of moving up ##Mg \sin \theta ## will act downwards and maximum static friction will act downwards ## \mu Mg \cos \theta ## Now what im confused by is how will we know " how quickly" block B reaches its maximum static friction value without any numbers, the suggested solution says that when block A is at its maximum extension, then block B will start to move up but with a certain set of values couldn't block A reach...
Back
Top