Uncertainty Principle

quicksilver123

I'm trying to understand the uncertainty principle.

ΔxΔp >= h/4∏

from my understanding of the concept, its not possible to know the value of the position and the momentum simultaneously. yet the problems that i see floating around on the internet seem to just plug in values for mass and velocity to solve for position.

i understand that the answer yielded would be

Δx >= whatever

showing that there is uncertainty in the value of change in position.

is that all there is to it? or am i missing something here?

edit - i'm also trying to teach myself about Schrödinger's equation but the mathematics involved seem too complex.

FeynmanIsCool

Quote by quicksilver123

yet the problems that i see floating around on the internet seem to just plug in values for mass and velocity to solve for position.
.

here is a very simple example of how to use the uncertainty equation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVRW8ubSxU4

quicksilver123

I don't know. The principle was mentioned in my chemistry course. I had a previous familiarization with the concept so I just googled some problems being solved.

quicksilver123

The link cleared it up. Thanks.

FeynmanIsCool

also, just to clear you understanding - the more you know about position, the less you know about momentum. and when they say "its not possible to know the value of the position and the momentum simultaneously" they really mean "its not possible to know the exact value of the position and the momentum simultaneously" So lets say you know fairly accurately the position of your electron - the uncertainty in its momentum will be very large.

tom.stoer

The HUP in its precise mathematics formulation is not about our knowledge of position x and momentum p, it's about the impossibility to attribute x and p to a quantum state with higher precision. So he HUP does not only say that we cannot know (nor measure) x and p with higher precision, but that in a general quantum state the particle cannot have auch x and p.

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quicksilver123	I don't know. The principle was mentioned in my chemistry course. I had a previous familiarization with the concept so I just googled some problems being solved.

quicksilver123	Uncertainty Principle The link cleared it up. Thanks.

tom.stoer Recognitions: Science Advisor	The HUP in its precise mathematics formulation is not about our knowledge of position x and momentum p, it's about the impossibility to attribute x and p to a quantum state with higher precision. So he HUP does not only say that we cannot know (nor measure) x and p with higher precision, but that in a general quantum state the particle cannot have auch x and p.