Re: Heisenberg uncertainty principle meanings
From: zigoteau (zigoteau_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 09/19/04
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Date: 19 Sep 2004 09:07:52 -0700
"Old Man" <nomail@nomail.net> wrote in message news:<u4ednTGTp9VyBNHcRVn-iw@prairiewave.com>...
Hi Matt, Sam and Old Man,
> "Matt" <jrefactors@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:ba8a039e.0409180940.6147d580@posting.google.com...
> > I want to know if Heisenberg uncertainty principle means that add an
> observor
> > can change the result? I know this is not an easy principle to understand.
> > But is it the basic ideas?
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle
> >
> > please advise. thanks!!
Well, an observer can change the result by cheating.
> It's naught to do with am "observer".
>
> HUP applies to the momentum range of a particle
> confined to a box of volume (delta_x)^3. It has to
> do with the energy spectrum of a wave train of time
> duration delta_t.
>
> Every quantum state occupies a phase space "volume",
> (delta_V) (delta_p)^3 = h^3. That's Old Man's favorite.
>
> The function of the QM wave equation is to put Planck's
> constant, h, in its proper place.
>
> HUP has to do with the decay time of a radioactive
> nucleus. It has to do with the decay life time for
> electron spin-flip in the hydrogen atom (astrophysical
> 21 cm line).
>
> The purpose of the QM wave equation is to put Plank's
> constant, h, in it;s proper place.
The HUP means that classical physics is dead. On the macroscopic
scale, you can think in terms of discrete particles that preserve
their identity. They have a well-defined position and momentum. In QM,
the particle aspects of matter are relegated to the interpretation of
measurements. All the math involves waves. The waves don't occupy a
point in space, but at the very least are spread out over a region.
What classical physics thought of as the momentum of the particle is
in fact its spatial frequency. The wave function is a function of
position. To get the distribution of spatial frequency, you Fourier
transform it.
The HUP is in fact a statement about Fourier transforms. A
wavefunction which is nonzero only inside a very small region has a
Fourier transform which is spread out over a whole range of spatial
frequencies. In order to get a wavefunction which corresponds to only
a small range of spatial frequencies, it has to cover a large region
of space.
So the HUP means that you can't think any more about particles with
well defined positions at each moment of time, and well defined energy
and momentum. They have a range of positions, and a range of momenta.
There is no "correct" result, just a "most probable" one, If you are
in a position to influence the outcome of the measurement, then you
are interacting with the particle, and the measurement is not a valid
one for the isolated particle.
This leads naturally to the claims of Uri Geller and his ilk. If he
really were able to influence matter by thinking about it, don't you
think he could do something more sophisticated and of greater benefit
to mankind than cheap parlor tricks?
Cheers,
Zigoteau.
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