Quantum Mechanics

Name:
Quantum Mechanics
Detailed information:
Quantum mechanics describes a system of particles in terms of a wave function defined over the configuration space of the system. Although the concept of particles having distinct locations is implicit in the potential energy function that determines the wave function (e.g., of a ground-state system), the observable dynamics of the system cannot be described in terms of the motion of such particles from point to point. In describing the energies, distributions, and behaviors of electrons in nanometer-scale structures, quantum mechanical methods are necessary. Electron wave functions help determine the potential energy surface of a molecular system, which in turn is the basis for classical descriptions of molecular motion.