The quantization of energy, the zero point energy and the uncertainty principle should all appear strange and against “common sense”. All of these results and many others predicted by quantum mechanics have been exhaustively tested experimentally.
In fact, quantum mechanics gives the correct results for objects of all sizes. The “strange” effects referred to above are simply too small for us to detect in everyday life. This can be shown by scaling up the results to objects with everyday sizes.
- As n gets very large, the wavelength is so small that probability is essentially the same at all points across the box. The particle can be found with equal probability at any point.
- As m gets very large, the separation between levels approaches zero. Quantization appears to disappear.
- As the box size increases and L gets very large, the separation between levels approaches zero. Quantization appears to disappear.