ABSTRACT
The study of the behaviour of microscopic systems using Schrodinger's wave equation is a branch of quantum mechanics known as wave mechanics. This approach is inadequate to deal with all problems of interest, but a remarkably wide range of processes can successfully be investigated solely with the theory. The physics of a particle which moves in a static potential is of particular interest. Classically, the energy of such a particle is conserved. The wave function is reminiscent of the classical problem of standing waves on a stretched string with fixed endpoints, with the stationary states corresponding to the normal modes of vibration. Just as there are discrete frequencies of vibration on the string, so there are discrete energy levels. The energy, which is a continuous parameter in classical mechanics, is 'quantized' to certain discrete energy levels.
