Classical Physics versus Quantum Mechanics
Classical physics:
Observables are numbers.-
All observables are independent.
Quantum mechanics:
-
Observables are operators that act on the wave
function psi to generate a number.
-
Most observables are independent.
is
called the commutator
-
Conjugate observables are not independent.
Conjugate observables (potential/momentum) must have a non-zero commutator to quantize a field.
Slide 27 could not remember what it was for.