## Uncertainty Equation

$\Delta p \Delta x\geq \frac{h}{4\pi }$

005388369
Posts: 73
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2019 12:16 am

### Uncertainty Equation

I just want to double check something. So, if we are certain of the momentum, does the uncertainty of the position increase? And vise versa, if we are certain of the position, does the uncertainty of the momentum increase? Also, when the two uncertainties are multiplied, does getting an answer that is greater than or equal to (1/2)*h tell us that the two values of the uncertainties are right?

Jessica Li 4F
Posts: 115
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2019 12:16 am

### Re: Uncertainty Equation

Just using the equation, (uncertainty in momentum)(uncertainty in position) >= h/4pi, you can tell that if one of the factors increases and you want the product to stay the same, the other factor must decrease.
Hope this helps!

Abby Soriano 1J
Posts: 103
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2019 12:16 am

### Re: Uncertainty Equation

Yes, the more you know about the momentum, the less you know about the position, and vice versa. This is due to the idea of how, at the atomic scale, methods of observing objects (i.e. knowing its position) with as small a mass as an electron's can actually disrupt other aspects of it such as its velocity (which in turn affects its momentum).

selatran1h
Posts: 52
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2019 12:16 am

### Re: Uncertainty Equation

Yes, the more you know about the position, the less you will know about the momentum. Based on the uncertainty equation, you can see that the two are inversely related.

Amy Pham 1D
Posts: 103
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2019 12:15 am

### Re: Uncertainty Equation

And in regards to your second question, multiplying the uncertainty in the position with the uncertainty in the momentum will result in a number that is always greater than or equal to h/4pi, the baseline uncertainty. This is the most optimized precision that the values of position and momentum can be measured in at a given instant, but the uncertainty could be more than this ideal minimum. Hope this helps!