Need Help Understanding a Quantum Mechanics Equation

Bootsie
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Can anyone please help me understand this equation and explain it to me?


0a1c02498125a255a2f5b0e58908a8ae.png
 
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That says that you can measure the position of an object as accurately as you please (\Delta x is the "error" in measuring the position) or you can measure the momentum as accurately as you please (\Delta p is the "error" in measuring momentum) but you cannot measure both any more accurately than given by that equation.
 
Bootsie said:
Can anyone please help me understand this equation and explain it to me?
0a1c02498125a255a2f5b0e58908a8ae.png

Bootsie, welcome to PF!

The equation you have there is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. The term Δx refers to the uncertainty on the part of an observer on a particle's positions, and Δp refers to the observers uncertainty about a particle's momentum.

Essentially, the equation says that the more definite a particle's position, the less you can know about it's momentum - and vice versa. It can be generalized to any attributes of a particle, the HUP essentially states that a particle can never have definite properties.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle

EDIT: Looks like HallsofIvy beat me to it.
 

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