Comment on "Avoid propagation of typos with numerical methods" [Am. J. Phys. 89(1), 9 (2021)].
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Reed, B. Cameron
- Source
- American Journal of Physics. Dec2023, Vol. 91 Issue 12, p956-957. 2p.
- Subject
- *MOLECULAR orbitals
*QUANTUM mechanics
*LAGUERRE polynomials
*CHEMICAL bonds
*QUANTUM numbers
- Language
- ISSN
- 0002-9505
The article discusses errors in hydrogenic radial wavefunctions found in various quantum mechanics textbooks. The author surveyed 15 introductory quantum mechanics texts and found that all but one of the radial wavefunctions were correct. The incorrect function was likely the source of the error mentioned in a previous letter. The article also explores the orthogonality of these functions and notes that the conventional orthogonality relationship for associated Laguerre polynomials does not apply when the principal quantum numbers are different. The author encourages readers to explore these functions, as they are fundamental to understanding electron orbitals and molecular bonding. [Extracted from the article]