Concept explainers
Why a baseball has well-defined position and speed, but an electron does not.
Answer to Problem 4Q
Solution:
A baseball has well-defined position and speed because macroscopic objects like baseballs have large mass and momentum as compared to an electron.
Explanation of Solution
The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is stated as:
For a baseball, mass is of the order of a few grams. Thus, the uncertainty limit is extremely low, to the order of 10-30. This is small enough that it can be neglected, and we seldom measure quantities to that precision. Accurate predictions can be taken while not coming close to the limit of error.
But for an electron, , so uncertainty limit comes to the order of , which is very significant. Thus, precise measurements come close to the Uncertainty limit.
Chapter 28 Solutions
Physics: Principles with Applications
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