Quantum Mechanics EE

[Guest Daminark]

Hey everybody, I've been working on my EE, so I'd like to give a brief overview of what I'm doing, maybe if you guys could give me some kind of suggestion/advice? 

 

I'm trying to calculate the time it'd take for a pencil to fall when trying to balance it on its point. I'm taking the point of the pencil as an infinitesimally small point. I'll either take it as a cone on a rod, or as a infinitely thin rod with all the mass concentrated at one point (sort of like an unstable pendulum). 

 

Classical mechanics suggests that it's possible to put it in (unstable) equilibrium if you get the required initial conditions. The center of mass would have to be directly on top of the base, and obviously it must be at rest. According to quantum mechanics (HUP) those conditions are impossible to reach. I'm thinking of solving an equation of motion, with initial conditions (angle and angular velocity, which ideally should both be zero) restricted by HUP, and then solving for the time it takes to reach a certain angle. 

 

I know this is a pretty unspecific overview, but how does this sound? Any suggestions on how to improve? Thanks in advance

[Vioh]

I'm trying to calculate the time it'd take for a pencil to fall when trying to balance it on its point. I'm taking the point of the pencil as an infinitesimally small point. I'll either take it as a cone on a rod, or as a infinitely thin rod with all the mass concentrated at one point (sort of like an unstable pendulum). 

 

This is a really great idea. I was actually thinking of doing this topic when i first saw it in the Tsokos's book, but decided to not do it because i didn't know anything about quantum mechanics back then, & also because the topic is very theoretical.

Of course, you have to build like a model in which you have to solve to get the time it takes for the pencil to fall down. Even though you can take the point of the pencil as an infinitesimally small point, but i think you should also build a more realistic model in which the point of the pencil is not infinitesimally small.

 

Also, you should discuss whether HUP can really be applied in this situation, since quantum effects often disappear very quickly at a large scale; and obviously, a pencil consists of too many atoms, that HUP may not be applied. So think a bit about this.

 

In the end of the essay, you should talk a bit about how your research gives a better understanding of quantum mechanics, or even the application of your research. I can't think of one right now but you may want to include that into your EE to get a better grade

 

Good luck!