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Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle (view source)
Revision as of 19:44, April 28, 2007
, 19:44, April 28, 2007Time and Energy. --~~~~
Contrary to popular belief, this is ''not'' merely a measurement issue. While it is often stated that it is not possible to know the precise position and momentum of a particle at the same time, this is misleading; it implies that the particle has precisely defined position and momentum, but that information is unavailable to us. In fact, the Uncertainty Principle tells us that a particle cannot have precisely defined position and momentum simultaneously.
Contrary to popular belief, this is ''not'' merely a measurement issue. While it is often stated that it is not possible to know the precise position and momentum of a particle at the same time, this is misleading; it implies that the particle has precisely defined position and momentum, but that information is unavailable to us. In fact, the Uncertainty Principle tells us that a particle cannot have precisely defined position and momentum simultaneously.
A similar example is time and energy, the product of which also has a lower limit. Quantum fluctuations are a result of this, where for short time, there is enough energy in "empty space" to create a pair of particle and antiparticle, such as electron and positron. Although this appears to be a strange or extreme process, it is the only one to explain some properties of black holes. Laser physics with ultrashort laser pulses is another field, where the limit in the product of time and energy plays an important role.
[[category: physics]]
[[category: physics]]