![]() Not only that, but any time we measured an object, it impacted the object forever. We could be the masters of our domain.Īnd then Heisenberg came along and said it was all an imaginary, impossible goal. As humans, we thought if we learned enough about what was going on and how it was going on, that we could not only predict a particular event with certainty, but figure out all events from the beginning of the beginning to the end of the end. For thousands of years, this was the Holy Grail of all sciences – learn the facts so we can determine what’s going to happen – regardless of the science involved, be it physics, biology, or geology. If you give me all the relevant facts, I can determine what’s going to happen. In classical physics, this is known as determinism. But if you flip a penny exactly the same way every time (i.e., same starting position, same applied force, same direction, same weather, etc.), it will land the same way every time without any variation, 100% of the time. That is as long as you do it randomly, the penny will land heads up 50% of the time and tails up 50% of the time, or as close to those even percentages as can be accomplished in the real world. Or as another example, you will frequently hear that randomly flipping a penny many times will result in an even number of heads and tails over time. For example, if you tell me how much a rock weighs, what its shape, angles, and density are, what the environmental conditions are (e.g., wind, humidity, etc.), and what force and arc you plan to throw the rock with, I can tell you where the rock will land, ahead of time, exactly every time. ![]() Classical physics lived and breathed on the idea that we could ultimately determine precisely all possible facts, and not only determine those precise facts about an object…all of them…but predict the outcome and behavior of any object ahead of time if you knew or gave all the relevant facts. This was revolutionary for a few reasons, but mostly because it said that we can never truly know all the facts about anything, especially as we try to get more precise. In a nutshell, it states/proves, mathematically, that it is impossible to get infinite precision on a pair of complimentary properties, which depend on each other, such as speed/momentum and position/location. ![]() In 1927, Werner Heisenberg published what has become known as the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which significantly impacted and defined quantum mechanics from then on. If you are uncertain about what the Uncertainty Principle means, maybe this article can give you another take on it. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |