Question

infinite square well potential reflection and transmission

Answer 1

What does it mean by an infinite square well being transparent? I have been doing the calculation of the infinite square well and I came up with an answer T=1T=1 where TT for Transmission coefficient. But I can't really tell what it actually means in terms of physics. I would imagine a particle to be trapped in a infinite square well to be the inner electron very close to a Big nucleus, So what does it mean by transparent in this context? Does it mean No other wave function can interact with this electron?

If there is an infinite potential, why would wavefunction still be able to pass through it but not getting bounce off the edges? of the well?

Answer 2

I am understanding your question, the transmission coefficient of an infinite square well should not be zero. As far as what it means, I understand it to relate to the probability of a particle much like the wave function of a particle; however, instead of describing the probability of finding a particle at a point in space it describes the probability of a particle passing a barrier.

You may want to think of it as the transmission of light. A material that allows all light through would essentially have a transmission coefficient of 1; similarly, a barrier that does not block any particles would have a transmission coefficient of 1. Zero in either case would be the case that either no light or no particles pass through the material.

Thinking of this, the transmission coefficient of an infinite square well should definitely not be 1, as no particles should pass the edges of the well. This is also seen in the wave equation for a particle inside of an infinite square well in that the wave function is zero outside of the bounds of the well.