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Uncertainty Principle: Difference between revisions
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==Observer Effect== | ==Observer Effect== | ||
In science, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observation will make on a phenomenon being observed. This is often the result of instruments that, by necessity, alter the state of what they measure in some manner. A commonplace example is checking the pressure in an automobile tire; this is difficult to do without letting out some of the air, thus changing the pressure. This effect can be observed in many domains of physics. | In science, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observation will make on a phenomenon being observed. This is often the result of instruments that, by necessity, alter the state of what they measure in some manner. A commonplace example is checking the pressure in an automobile tire; this is difficult to do without letting out some of the air, thus changing the pressure. This effect can be observed in many domains of physics. The observer effect on a physical process can often be reduced to insignificance by using better instruments or observation techniques.Historically, the observer effect has been confused with the uncertainty principle.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_(physics) Observer Effect]</ref> | ||
The [[Uncertainty Principle]] has been frequently confused with the observer effect, evidently even by its originator, Werner Heisenberg. The uncertainty principle in its standard form actually describes how precisely we may measure the position and momentum of a particle at the same time — if we increase the precision in measuring one quantity, we are forced to lose precision in measuring the other. An alternative version of the uncertainty principle, more in the spirit of an observer effect,fully accounts for the disturbance the observer has on a system and the error incurred, although this is not how the term "uncertainty principle" is most commonly used in practice.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_(physics) Observer Effect]</ref> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||