z***@hotmail.com
2013-07-20 16:55:35 UTC
The Schrödinger equation is mathematically a wave equation, since the solutions are functions which describe wave-like motions. Normally wave equations in physics can be derived from other physical laws - the wave equation for mechanical vibrations on strings and in matter can be derived from Newton's laws - where the analogue wave function is the displacement of matter, and electromagnetic waves from Maxwell's equations, where the wave functions are electric and magnetic fields. On the contrary, the basis for Schrödinger's equation is the energy of the particle, and a separate postulate of quantum mechanics: the wave function is a description of the system.