Uncertainity principle Definition and 52 Threads

In *An Introduction to Thermal Physics* by Schroeder, while deriving the multiplicity of an ideal gas makes the following statements (image below): Even in quantum mechanics, the number of allowed wavefunctions is infinite. But the number of independent wavefunctions (in a technical sense...

I would like to know if this thought makes any sence or if i'm missing something Heisenberg principle states that: ΔxΔρ ≥ ħ/2 ⇒ Δρ ≥ ħ /2Δx If we consider a scenario where we increase the precision of our measurement of position, we have Δx ⇒ 0 the principle implies: Δρ ≥ ħ/2Δx → Δρ ⇒ ∞...

By considering a particle on a ring, the eigenfunctions of ##H## are also eigenfunctions of ##L_\text{z}##: $$\psi(\phi) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi}}e^{im\phi}$$ with ##m = 0,\pm 1,\pm 2,\cdots##. In polar coordinates, the corresponding operators are $$H =...

I'm just an ordinary person who's very interested in physics. I'm posting a question because I'm curious about quantum mechanics. The wavelength of the material wave that can be obtained when a baseball with a mass of 150 g is thrown at 40 m/s is 1.1×10^-34m by the h/mv formula. As you can see...

I have a question related to the uncertainty principle in QFT and if it is related to the early universe conditions. Do we still have four-vector momentum and position uncertainty relation in relativistic quantum theory? I have been following the argument related to the early universe and the...

Recently I've read more about virtual particles and at first I tought that there were only doubts that virtual particles are not interpretable with the help of uncertainty principle. Furthermore it can't be used an an "excuse" for the temporary violation of the conservation of energy. Can...

hi guys i am trying to follow a proof of the generalized uncertainty principle and i am stuck at the last step : i am not sure why he put these relations in (4.20) : $$(\Delta\;C)^{2} = \bra{\psi}A^{2}\ket{\psi}$$ $$(\Delta\;D)^{2} = \bra{\psi}B^{2}\ket{\psi}$$ i tried to prove these using the...

Homework Statement:: i saw this simple derivation of the uncertainty principle in my college introductory quantum book Relevant Equations:: Δp.Δx = h hi guys i saw this derivation of the uncertainty principle in my college quantum book , but the derivation seems very simple and sloppy , i...

I'm a student in South Korea(It is my first English question ever). I found descriptions of quantum tunneling explained by the uncertainty principle in Korea. There are two kinds of descriptions to explain quantum tunneling; position-momentum and time-energy uncertainty principle. First...

I want to know between which two quantities of energy, momentum, and mass there is an uncertainty principle going on. Can I measure any two of those at the same time? If yes, which ones? Thank you in advance

"Now, if an electron has a definite momentum p, (i.e.del p = 0), by the de Broglie relation, it has a definite wavelength.A wave of definite (single) wavelength extends all over space. By Born’s probability interpretation this means that the electron is not localised in any finite region of...

My approach: Assuming non-relativistic velocity: $$p = mv$$ $$mvL = \frac{\bar{h}}{2}$$ $$v = \frac{\bar{h}}{2mL} = \frac{h}{4\pi mL}$$ $$v = (6.626*10^-34) / (4pi * 1.67*10^-27 * 4.3*10^-15)$$ $$v = 7.34*10^6 = .0245c$$ This answer is incorrect. What have I done wrong? --- Edit: My...

I have a measurement with uncertainties for two years. Say Year 1 Rain : 100mm(80-120mm) Year 2 Rain : 120mm(103-131mm). Now I get the percentage change in rain in Year 2 w.r.t Year 1 as 20%. Is there a way to get the uncertainty associated with this percentage change?

My question is: is the resolving power of an array of radio telescopes a quantum or a classical effect? The increase in resolving power of a single telescope, as aperture size increases, is easy to explain in terms of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. But when we go an array of telescopes are...

Homework Statement For the ground state of a particle moving freely in a one-dimensional box 0≤x≤L with rigid reflecting end points, the uncertainity product (Δx)(Δp) is (A) h/2 (B) h√2 (C) >h/2 (D) h/√3Homework Equations The uncertainity principle says that - (Δx)(Δp) ≥ ħ/2 Ground state energy...

I have seen that the more a particle has a high energy, i.e ##E##, the more its lifetime is short, respecting so the uncertainty principle. But by the definition of this uncertainty principle : ##E\,\Delta t \geq \dfrac{\hbar}{2}##, I can write : ##\Delta t \geq \dfrac{\hbar}{2E}##, then...

If I understand it correctly, a particle doesn't have a definite momentum and a definite position, but is in a superposition of multiple positions and momenta. And when we measure either of the two quantities, say, position, the wavefunction collapses to tell us where the particle is. Now when...

If we have a particle, say, an electron and we shoot it straight through an empty box. This box is surrounded by light sources on its two sides: So, if you consider the above cube, if we shoot a particle in a straight line such that it crosses the face ABEF and it crosses the face HGDC through...

Heisenberg's uncertainty relation says: $$\Delta x \Delta p \ge \hbar$$ If we assume a massless quantum object then we have the relationship ##\Delta E = c\Delta p## so that the above uncertainty relationship becomes $$\Delta E \ge \frac{\hbar c}{\Delta x}.\tag{1}$$ I understand that if we have...

Hi all, Yet another question: if the universe is finite, then linear momentum should be quantized (I assume in a similar manner to an infinite potential well since there are boundary conditions). My question is, then, if one computes a value for ##\Delta p## (momentum variance), is the variance...

Hello. What I know about the Van der Waals force is that it comes from an instantaneous electronic cloud flucutation of the netural atom. This instantaneous electric dipole of the atom attracts electrons in nearby neutral atoms so other electric dipoles are induced on those atoms. As a result...

Imagine a spatial frame of reference attached to a point-like particle. It has x=0 since it is at the origin and p=0 since it is at rest. Having definite position and momentum is normally considered a violation of the uncertainty principle. How would you resolve this paradox? 1. Position frames...

When looking at a night light with almost closed eyes, I notice that the light becomes a vertical line. When tilting my head 90 degrees, the line becomes horizontal. Can this be explained by Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle? This question has been asked in another thread : "Squinting at...

Homework Statement A horizontal beam of laser light of wavelength 474 nm passes through a narrow slit that has width 5.80×10−2 mm . The intensity of the light is measured on a vertical screen that is 2.40 m from the slit. Use the result of part A to estimate the width of the central diffraction...

Homework Statement See Image The bit about Spectral lines, I couldn't explain why[/B] Homework Equations ΔEΔt≈h The Attempt at a Solution I expected the histogram to peak at the given mass in question and to have a width of about 0.08 MeV calculated as ΔE from the Energy-time uncertainty...

what can be the uncertainty of the frequency that humans can hear ? I'm aware that there are many ways,but i tried google-ing to find them but i couldnt. if you could help me it would be great.

Dear PF Forum, Determinism. 1. Is there determinism? 2. Because we can't measure the electron position, it doesn't mean there's no determinism? Heisenberg uncertainity principle states, per wiki: But because we can't measure it, it doesn't mean that the universe itself is indeterministic...

For an electron can I not do the following to determine both the position and momentum? I take a screen with a small hole and I eventually make the hole smaller and smaller. Cathode rays emitted will hence get diffracted after passing through the hole making momentum more and more uncertain...

I was reading the Feynman Lectures awhile back and I remember reading something he said about the Uncertainty Principle and it seemed slightly odd to me. I don't remember the exact quote and combing through some of the lectures online I can't quite find it. I've heard it more than once from...

The principle states it is impossible to 'simultaneously' know the position and momentum(velocity)of an object. Position is something that can be noted at a particular instant, as from a photograph whereas velocity is something that can only be measured over a period of time,as from a movie. The...

Does the Heisenberg Uncertainity Principle mean: 1) If a particle is confined within a length x then it must jiggle around with a momentum given by p ~ h/2x PI OR 2) If we measure the position of a particle to an accuracy of x then its momentum will be uncertain by ~ h/2x PI

When it actually 'equal to' in uncertainty principle? For example under what conditions: ΔxΔt = h/4pi

Recently, I was reading about Hawking Radiation in A Brief History of Time. It says that at no point can all the fields be zero and so there's nothing like empty space(quantum fluctuation etc.). Now, the reason mentioned was that virtual(force-carrier) particles cannot have both a precise rate...

Hi all! So rumor has it, that the spin of a particle is preferably aligned opposite to the direction of the particle's momentum, whereas an antiparticle spins along the direction of motion. For the sake of simplicity let us assume that the (anti-)particle is massless and hence it is an...

I am new to quantum mechanics. By hitting a particle with photon in vacuum we find its momentum and then again hit it with another photon to find its position . can we calculate backwards using conservation of momentum the position an momentum of that particle in both two states ( since we know...

http://www.livescience.com/18567-wac...principle.html are these once again bold claims? they are saying the uncertainty principle isn't just in measurement but in the very nature of the quantum. It seems to be bold claims and not reperated anywhere on any other sites and certainly doesn't...

existence of protons, neutrons nd alpha particles in the nucleus.

I've been reading extensively around the internet and haven't been able to find a website which describes the philosophical implications of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. Would appreciate if someone would explain these implications or provide a link in which describes them. thx

Can someone please explain the history of Heisenberg discovered his uncertainty principle? Was he trying to physically measure the position and momentum of an electron to disprove the old atom model or did he just do it hypothetically?

Homework Statement The speed of an electron is measured to within an uncertainty of 2e4 m/s. What is the size of the smallest region of space in which the electron can be confined? Homework Equations Diracs Constant=ΔxΔp p=mv The Attempt at a Solution what I did was (Diracs...

how would this world appear like if energy,time &&& momentum,distance can commuate...and anyone please describe relation between energy and time

i am not getting the interconnection between probability wave function of particle with particle's momentum,can anyone help? i don't want any mathematical equations,any theoretical explanation would suffice

According to uncertainty principle, it's not possible to measure the position and momentum of an atomic particle ( say electron) simultaneously. Now, suppose a scientist grows so small in size that an electron is the size of a big ball (or planet) for him. Is uncertainity principle...

I am a beginner to the part of quantum physics and I am not getting the ideas well enough.I am reading it on the Feynman Lectures. But the uncertainity principle does not give any hint and it does not reveal itself at all in our day to day lives. Suppose a man starts to run at uniform...

Is Uncertainity Principle is applied during particle antiparticle generation and is it a deterministic principle related to their positions and momentum in space ?

Suppose in a double slit experiment, we place a machine that traps the gravitons emitted by the electrons and hence gives us the exact trajectory of the electrons(this would have no effect on the experiment as gravitons are liberated in any double slit experiment, just that we are able to...

1)Consider a beam of electrons in a CRO striking the phosphor screen.How does the uncertainity principle pan out here? Technically, we are getting the exact position of the electron due to the point made on the screen.And, we can most certainly calculate the velocity by estimating the time in...

I read that the Heisenberg uncertainty principle arises for stuff like electrons simply because the observer affects the observed . That is,because photons (or what ever the observer uses to detect the position) will affect the trajectory of the particle... That doesn't make much sense to...

Photon has no mass.So when we apply Uncertainity principle to photon position*velocity*mass=greater than Plancks constant So when we use mass as null,the equation implies that 0<h. That is h is negative.But h is positive. Please explain me this.

To find the frequency, Why do you need to consider the signal over long period of time? For example - if you look at a sine wave from 0-360 with two cycles, isn't it enough to get the frequency? I get the second part - you need a short time window to see sudden changes in frequency.