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Uncertainty Principle: Difference between revisions
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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> | 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> | ||
==Double Slit Experiment== | |||
The modern double-slit experiment is a demonstration that light and matter can display characteristics of both classically defined waves and particles; moreover, it displays the fundamentally probabilistic nature of quantum mechanical phenomena. This experiment was performed originally by Thomas Young in 1801 (well before quantum mechanics) simply to demonstrate the wave theory of light and is sometimes referred to as Young's experiment.The experiment belongs to a general class of "double path" experiments, in which a wave is split into two separate waves that later combine into a single wave. Changes in the path lengths of both waves result in a phase shift, creating an interference pattern. n the basic version of this experiment, a coherent light source such as a laser beam illuminates a plate pierced by two parallel slits, and the light passing through the slits is observed on a screen behind the plate. The wave nature of light causes the light waves passing through the two slits to interfere, producing bright and dark bands on the screen—a result that would not be expected if light consisted of classical particles. However, the light is always found to be absorbed at the screen at discrete points, as individual particles (not waves), the interference pattern appearing via the varying density of these particle hits on the screen.Furthermore, versions of the experiment that include detectors at the slits find that each detected photon passes through one slit (as would a classical particle), and not through both slits (as would a wave). These results demonstrate the principle of wave–particle duality. | |||
Other atomic-scale entities such as electrons are found to exhibit the same behavior when fired toward a double slit. Additionally, the detection of individual discrete impacts is observed to be inherently probabilistic, which is inexplicable using classical mechanics.The experiment can be done with entities much larger than electrons and photons, although it becomes more difficult as size increases. <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment Double Slit Experiment]</ref> | |||