2005/02/28 by Micael C. Wittmann, Michael C Wittmann, Jeffrey T. Morgan +2 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum Mechanics and Non-Hermitian Physics #physics.ed-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0143-0807/26/6/001
Originally submitted to the European Journal of Physics on 2005 Feb 10. Pages: 14. References: 11. Figures: 9. Tables: 1. Resubmitted May 18 with revisions that include an appendix with the curriculum materials discussed in the paper (4 page small group UW-style tutorial)
arxiv created 2005/05/18 · openalex publication_date 2005/08/08 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
We report on a multi-year, multi-institution study to investigate students' reasoning about energy in the context of quantum tunnelling. We use ungraded surveys, graded examination questions, individual clinical interviews and multiple-choice exams to build a picture of the types of responses that students typically give. We find that two descriptions of tunnelling through a square barrier are particularly common. Students often state that tunnelling particles lose energy while tunnelling. When sketching wavefunctions, students also show a shift in the axis of oscillation, as if the height of the axis of oscillation indicated the energy of the particle. We find inconsistencies between students' conceptual, mathematical and graphical models of quantum tunnelling. As part of a curriculum in quantum physics, we have developed instructional materials designed to help students develop a more robust and less inconsistent picture of tunnelling, and present data suggesting that we have succeeded in doing so.