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must I say "about 100 years ago" in this case?
At some point, precision reaches a scientific limit. Due to [[quantum mechanics]], and especially the [[Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle]], at some point precision in measurement is impossible without the imparting of energy onto the measured object. For this reason, precision at the [[atom|atomic]] level is difficult to obtain. One example is, instead of referring to [[electron|electrons]] in a particular location around an atom, scientists determine what area of space they ''could'' occupy, and label this area a probability cloud, or an [[orbital]].
At some point, precision reaches a scientific limit. Due to [[quantum mechanics]], and especially the [[Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle]], at some point precision in measurement is impossible without the imparting of energy onto the measured object. For this reason, precision at the [[atom|atomic]] level is difficult to obtain. One example is, instead of referring to [[electron|electrons]] in a particular location around an atom, scientists determine what area of space they ''could'' occupy, and label this area a probability cloud, or an [[orbital]].
In most non-scientific prose, it is common to give approximate values. That being the norm, there is no need to use ''about'' in phrases like, "The first airplane was flown by the [[Wright Brothers]] {{#expr: {{years ago|1903}} round -2}} years ago."
==References==
==References==
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[[category:science]]
[[category:science]]