CHEMISTRY COMMUNITY

What exactly is the Heisenberg Indeterminacy and how is it applied?

I read that the indeterminacy principle is the idea that we can never be 100% of the velocity or position of an object, when measuring at the same time. So if you were to find one while disregarding the other (such as just velocity or just position), the results would be more accurate.

Heisenberg indeterminacy is the principle that the measurement process influences the outcome. For example, light (photons) shined on an electron will change the pathway of the electron and cause uncertainty in its distance.

It is the principle that (in addition to the fact that on an atomic level measurement influences outcome) we cannot accurately define both the momentum and position of a particle at the same time. For example, we can estimate a probable area of where the electron may be in an atom, but we would be unable to say for sure its momentum. Vice versa applies as well. In the equation (delta momentum * delta position >= h/4pi) we can see that there is a quantitative way to map our indeterminacy, and that the two variables respond accordingly. It is best applied in establishing data about electron or particle paths.

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states that there is a limit to the accuracy of determining both the position and momentum of an electron because photons change the path of the electron. Therefore, if the path is uncertain, so is the velocity and momentum. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle provides us with a formula to calculate the uncertainty of the position and momentum of that electron (Δp and Δx).

(Δx)(Δp) ≥ h (Planck's constant) / 4 π

The location (delta x) and the linear momentum (delta p) of a particle cannot be known simultaneously with arbitrary precision.
The two values are inversely proportional. If one is high, the other value is low.