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## Visualizing 1D complex-valued wavefunctions

Visualizing wavefunctions is essential in quantum mechanics (or wave physics, in general).

For starters, let’s start with the eigenmode of the wave produced by the transverse displacement $y$ of a string of length $L$ (like that of a guitar) with fixed endpoints. The modes of these vibrations is given by $y(x,t)=y_0 \sin(n \pi x/L)\cos(\omega_n t)$, where $y_0$ is the maximum displacement, $x$ is the position, $n$ is the mode number, and $\omega_n$ is the mode frequency. Shown below is wavefunction for $n=3$ plotted as a single image for different snapshots in time.

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## Itch to blog

My side trips with physics outside of my PhD work.

Visualizing real and abstract concepts is essential in learning physics, especially for visual learners like myself. If I am unable to paint a picture of the physics in my head, I basically don’t understand it.

When I learned Python for computations, I immediately fell in love with it. It is easy to learn and use, and it offers a versatile and powerful set of visualization tools. Even if I am using MATLAB for my current PhD work (I’m an experimental physicist), I still find time playing with Python. This blog will be my way of sharing tiny bits of this adventure.

This is my first blog and I hope I can manage and update it when needed.

The image above was taken during my adventures (cycling) in the real world. Spot the the kangaroos!