Quantum Mechanics (QM) is the foundation for science and engineering disciplines as diverse as physics, materials science, chemistry, and nanotechnology. However, educators face major challenges in teaching QM concepts to students given the abstract and non-experiential nature of QM. To address the above challenges we are creating and evaluating a virtual environment governed by the laws of quantum mechanics as a way to engage alternative ways of teaching and learning QM.
In our current prototype, students begin in a classical world that is governed by laws found in our everyday experiences. Here, they encounter potential and kinetic energies, the conservation of energy, the predictability of position, and the continuous nature of energies allowed. They later move into a nanoscale environment in which energies are quantized, electrons can tunnel through potential barriers, and only probabilities are known. The juxtaposition of these two worlds enables students to compare classical and quantum mechanics.
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