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Physics LibreTexts

2.2: Energy Function

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Of course the kinetic energy is 12mv2, with v=r

E=12mv2+V(r)


Actually, this form is not very convenient for quantum mechanics. We rather work with the so-called momentum variable p=mv. Then the energy functional takes the form

E=12p2m+V(r)

The energy expressed in terms of p and r is often called the (classical) Hamiltonian, and will be shown to have a clear quantum analog.


This page titled 2.2: Energy Function is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Niels Walet via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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