How to determine the uncertainty of positon?


Moderators: Chem_Mod, Chem_Admin

Sophie Zhou 2H
Posts: 52
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2024 8:24 am

How to determine the uncertainty of positon?

Postby Sophie Zhou 2H » Wed Nov 06, 2024 8:30 pm

Hi, I was confused by which value we should use in the Heisenberg equation. Because I originally thought that for the uncertainty we either have something like the diameter of an atom or the value after the +- sign that represents uncertainty. For example, a ball has a diameter of 30cm +- 5cm. We use 5cm as the uncertainty for this equation. But on a reviewing session, the TA told us that we should use the number that is equal to upper bound minus lower bound, which in this case the uncertainty of position becomes 10cm (5cm larger or 5cm smaller). So I was absolutely confused. Thanks for answering this question.

Danika Suh 2L
Posts: 41
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2024 8:55 am

Re: How to determine the uncertainty of positon?

Postby Danika Suh 2L » Wed Nov 06, 2024 8:39 pm

Hi! In regards to the Heisenberg equation, the uncertainty of position covers the entire range of possible values. From this, in your example, the range would be 5 values below and above 30cm, otherwise stated as a range of 10cm. You would use the value of 10cm, instead of 5cm, as it covers the full spread of possible values for the uncertainty of position. Hope this helps!


Return to “Heisenberg Indeterminacy (Uncertainty) Equation”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests