A video that explains the Heisenberg uncertainty principle

[frauenfelder]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/02/27/a-video-that-explains-the-heis.html

…

[Boundegar]

So Werner Heisenberg was driving down the road when a cop pulled him over.

“Do you have any idea how fast you were going?”

“No, but I know exactly where I am.”

[Barradeno]

I didn’t think that this guy had any principles.

[SheiffFatman]

The version I heard was:

“Did you know you were going at 90 mph?”

“Great, now I’m lost.”

[david1]

Choose a particle property (position) then choose a wave property (but make it obsure) say momentum. So something can’t be fully particle and wave at the same time - not quite so mysterious now… And yes in QM momentum can be a wave property (see DeBroglie’s relation)

[AnthonyC]

@frauenfelder

because quantum physics is weird

Hey now, no need for that. Quantum physics was happily propagating blobs of complex amplitude in Hilbert space for billions of years before you showed up. You’re the weird one, thinking the world is made of things like “solid objects” in “three spatial dimensions.”

[karl_jones]

Particle and wave
Wave and particle
Where the hell is the definite article?

[joey_bladb]

That was a great explanation. I had to go back and review Fourier Transforms – also a super awesome explanation. I’ve used FFTs for a decade now and never quite got beyond “well we’re comparing the input function to a wide range of frequencies and some math-y magic happens and [hey look a shiny plastic bag dancing in the wind!] oh and here’s the transform!”