J-Girl said:This is probably a stupid question, but what does this symbol stand for?
[itex]\hbar[/itex]
I can't find it anywhere on the net. Thanks:)
The symbol ℎ, also known as h-bar, represents the reduced Planck's constant in physics. It is a fundamental constant that relates to the quantization of physical quantities on a microscopic scale.
In quantum mechanics, the symbol ℎ is used to represent the magnitude of a particle's angular momentum in terms of its wavelength. It is also used in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which states that the product of the uncertainty in position and momentum of a particle cannot be smaller than half of ℎ.
One example of ℎ being used in an equation is the Schrödinger equation, which describes the evolution of a quantum system over time. It includes the term ℎ/2m, where m is the mass of the particle, to represent the kinetic energy of the particle.
The symbol ℎ was first introduced by physicist Max Planck in 1900 as a way to simplify equations in his research on blackbody radiation. It was later used by physicist Niels Bohr in his model of the atom and became a fundamental constant in quantum mechanics.
The symbol ℎ is primarily used in physics, specifically in the field of quantum mechanics. However, it may also be used in other areas of science, such as chemistry and engineering, when dealing with microscopic particles and their properties.