Musical Example To Visualize Abstract Quantum Mechanical Ideas

Abstract

Quantum mechanics is a notoriously difficult subject to learn, due to a lack of real-world analogies that might help provide an intuitive grasp of the underlying ideas. Discrete energy levels and absorption and emission wavelengths in atoms are sometimes described as uniquely quantum phenomena, but are actually general to spatially confined waves of any sort. Here, we provide an experiment demonstrating the acoustic spectroscopy of a drum. We show that a struck drum emits sounds of discrete frequencies (tones), and that the lifetime of each emitted tone is directly related by Heisenberg's uncertainty principle to its line width in the drum's frequency spectrum. We also show that a still drum absorbs only those same frequencies when exposed to monochromatic sound from an audio speaker. The resonant motion of the drum membrane is too fast to see by eye (>60 Hz), but can be observed with the aid of a strobe light. The observed resonant modes of the drum are the eigenfunctions of a particle trapped in an infinite circular well, and analogous to the shapes of atomic orbitals (1s, 2p, 3d, 2s, etc.). This experiment can be built for under $50, and is an excellent demo or lab exercise for general and physical chemistry courses to provide a visual example of abstract quantum mechanical ideas.

Orbital Atômico: Conceitos, Ontologia e Ensino

“…Os conceitos de orbital atômico estão relacionados à elaboração teórica das estruturas de átomos, moléculas e cristais, de modo que, são fundamentais para a compreensão e a explicação de grande parte da Química. Entretanto, a literatura mostra que estudantes de Química ao redor do mundo (Bianco & Meloni, 2019;Cataldo, Griffith & Fogarty, 2018;Eagle, Seaney & Grubb, 2017;Ligouri, 2014;Saputra et al, 2015) assim como licenciandos em formação inicial (Türk & Tüzün, 2018) encontram dificuldades na apropriação dos conceitos ligados à Teoria Quântica e, de modo específico, dos conceitos de orbital.…”

Musical Analogies to Teach Middle School Students Topics of the Quantum Model of the Atom

“…52 There are few realworld macroscopically observable demonstrations of quantum mechanical ideas. 31 Nevertheless, from the pedagogical practice research made regarding the use of analogies, it was possible to confirm that we can prevent students' misinterpretations and the formation of misconceptions. Using analogies for which analogs were familiar and interesting to students and to a systematic presentation model of analogies, such as the FAR Guide, which involves a prelesson planning and a discussion of where the analogy breaks down, promoted successful student learning of the quantum model of the atom.…”

“…Obviously, care must be taken in presenting them to students to avoid misinterpretations and the formation of misconceptions. Over the years, the literature has been presenting analogies about the atom and its quantum atomic model. ,− Nevertheless, different analogies are needed because students continue to display unscientific mental models about the atom . Indeed, there is a lack of good analogies for this subject matter …”

“…The authors indicate that some quantum mechanical concepts may not have a straightforward classical analog. However, they emphasize that the experiment shows that many concepts that students find abstract (such superposition of states and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle) are, in fact, familiar behavior of all waves and have many real-world manifestations and implications . Vieira and Morais studied the use of a marching band analogy to teach the kinetic-molecular theory to students of specialized music education.…”

The Sound of Chemistry: Translating Infrared Wavenumbers into Musical Notes

“…Physical chemistry is traditionally perceived by students as a difficult subject to learn, which leads to low expectations regarding success and negative perceptions of the course. , For example, understanding chemical bonding and the use of infrared (IR) spectroscopy to determine the structure of a molecule can be challenging because of the abstract nature of the subject. A study by Sözbilir in 2004 demonstrated that more than half of students perceive the chemical concepts in physical chemistry to be abstract and difficult to grasp .…”