[Physics] Heisenberg uncertainty principle in daily life

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I need some examples of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle on a basic level, or if possible in daily life. Or maybe a simple explanation for validity of the principle in easier words. I cannot get any example except for the measurement of position and momentum of electrons with the help of photons so I decided to ask it here. Are there any simple examples?

Best Answer

If by "daily life" you mean things we experience on a day to day basis at the macroscopic level (as opposed to the microscopic level), while the principle applies it does so insignificantly.

The principle essentially states that you can never simultaneously know the exact position and speed (momentum) of an object because all objects behave like both a particle and a wave at the same time. If you know the exact position, there will be some error in determining the momentum, and vice versa. At the macroscopic levels of every day life the behavior of a ordinary object is overwhelmingly particulate in nature.

Are there any simple examples?

Consider a baseball of mass $0.145\ \mathrm{kg}$ moving at a velocity of about $40\ \mathrm{m/s}$ ($90\ \mathrm{mph}$). The De Broglie wavelength of the baseball is on the order of $10^{-34}\ \mathrm m$. The diameter of an ordinary atom is on the order of $10^{-10}\ \mathrm m$. Consequently, the wavelike behavior of the baseball is too small to observe, and therefore the error in determining the simultaneous position and momentum of the baseball is infinitesimally small.

So what is the relation of wavelength and diameter with the uncertainty in measuring position and momentum. I didn't completely get it.

OK, let me put it another way. First, the uncertainty principle is

$$\Delta x\Delta p \geq \frac{\hbar}{2}$$

or

$$\Delta x \geq \frac{\hbar}{2\Delta (mv)}$$

Where $\hbar$ is the reduced Plank's constant of $1.0546 \times 10^{-34}\ \mathrm{J\cdot s}$

Now our baseball has a mass of $0.145\ \mathrm{kg}$ and speed of $40\ \mathrm{m/s}$ as measured by a radar gun. Assume the radar gun has an accuracy of $1\ \%$. Therefore the uncertainty in our speed (and momentum given constant mass) is also $1\ \%$ or $0.4\ \mathrm{m/s}$. Given this uncertainty, the uncertainty in the position of our baseball, $\Delta x$, is about $9 \times 10^{-34}\ \mathrm m$, which would be many orders of magnitude smaller than the diameter of an ordinary atom. In other words, the uncertainty in the position of ordinary objects is essentially zero.

Compare this to the uncertainty in the position of an electron of mass $9.1 \times 10^{-31}\ \mathrm{kg}$ moving at the same speed with the same uncertainty, which would be about $1.4 \times 10^{-4}\ \mathrm m$. That is 6 orders of magnitude greater than the diameter of an ordinary atom.

A more practical example for an electron is determining the uncertainty in its speed when moving around the nucleus of an atom given that its position is confined to the diameter of the atom. For example, the diameter of a hydrogen atom is about $1 \times 10^{-10}\ \mathrm m$. That would make the uncertainty in the speed of the electron confined to the atom of about $0.6 \times 10^6\ \mathrm{m/s}$.

Bottom line: Although the uncertainty principle applies to all objects, its application is not relevant to the objects we encounter in daily life.

Hope this helps.