Well, as you all might have known by now. Quantum mechanics is kind-of scary as well as weird. There are many things in this that does not relate at all to logic at first, but by careful observation and understanding we can actually understand it. One of such concepts is Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.
The uncertainty principle says that, you can either measure where the wave is, but you wont be able to determine its properties, or you might know what its properties are but cannot measure its location. In particle physics this principle says that the better we know where the particle is, the less we know about how fast it is going.
There is a limit to our knowledge, i.e. we cant know both things at once because the moment we observe a particle we are interfering with its normal life and hence our interference changes the properties of the particle (or might I say one of the two components i.e. speed or location).
Confused...?
Well lets break it down,
Lets say we have a wave.
We can measure its frequency very easily but can we measure its location?
Well, you could say that the wave is where it is. but that isn't accurate enough. Hence we know the frequency (or let me say wavelength) but not its location.
Now let us consider another wave
Well we can easily measure this wave pulse's location. But this is a localized pulse, not a wave. Hence we cannot measure its frequency. Yes if there are many pulses then we can definitely measure the pulse repetition frequency. But that's just the frequency of the pulse not the frequency of the wave inside the pulse. A better example would be
Here we can see the location of the wave but we cannot measure its frequency.
Hence this is what this principle's about. You can either know where the wave is or how fast it is going but not both.
The uncertainty principle says that, you can either measure where the wave is, but you wont be able to determine its properties, or you might know what its properties are but cannot measure its location. In particle physics this principle says that the better we know where the particle is, the less we know about how fast it is going.
There is a limit to our knowledge, i.e. we cant know both things at once because the moment we observe a particle we are interfering with its normal life and hence our interference changes the properties of the particle (or might I say one of the two components i.e. speed or location).
Confused...?
Well lets break it down,
Lets say we have a wave.
We can measure its frequency very easily but can we measure its location?
Well, you could say that the wave is where it is. but that isn't accurate enough. Hence we know the frequency (or let me say wavelength) but not its location.
Now let us consider another wave
Well we can easily measure this wave pulse's location. But this is a localized pulse, not a wave. Hence we cannot measure its frequency. Yes if there are many pulses then we can definitely measure the pulse repetition frequency. But that's just the frequency of the pulse not the frequency of the wave inside the pulse. A better example would be
Here we can see the location of the wave but we cannot measure its frequency.
Hence this is what this principle's about. You can either know where the wave is or how fast it is going but not both.
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