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UncertaintyPrinciple: Readings: uncertainty

principle
Schrdinger's
cat
Antimatter

theuncertainty Classicalphysicswasonloosefootingwithproblemsofwave/particleduality,but
principlestatesthat wascaughtcompletelyoffguardwiththediscoveryoftheuncertaintyprinciple.
thepositionand TheuncertaintyprinciplealsocalledtheHeisenbergUncertaintyPrinciple,or
velocitycannotboth IndeterminacyPrinciple,articulated(1927)bytheGermanphysicistWerner
bemeasured,exactly, Heisenberg,thatthepositionandthevelocityofanobjectcannotbothbemeasured
atthesametime exactly,atthesametime,evenintheory.Theveryconceptsofexactpositionand
(actuallypairsof exactvelocitytogether,infact,havenomeaninginnature.
position,energyand
Ordinaryexperienceprovidesnoclueofthisprinciple.Itiseasytomeasureboththe
time) positionandthevelocityof,say,anautomobile,becausetheuncertaintiesimplied
uncertaintyprinciple bythisprincipleforordinaryobjectsaretoosmalltobeobserved.Thecompleterule
derivesfromthe stipulatesthattheproductoftheuncertaintiesinpositionandvelocityisequaltoor
measurement greaterthanatinyphysicalquantity,orconstant(about10 34joulesecond,the
problem,theintimate valueofthequantityh(wherehisPlanck'sconstant).Onlyfortheexceedinglysmall
connectionbetween massesofatomsandsubatomicparticlesdoestheproductoftheuncertainties
thewaveandparticle becomesignificant.
natureofquantum
Anyattempttomeasurepreciselythevelocityofasubatomicparticle,suchasan
objects electron,willknockitaboutinanunpredictableway,sothatasimultaneous
thechangeina measurementofitspositionhasnovalidity.Thisresulthasnothingtodowith
velocityofaparticle inadequaciesinthemeasuringinstruments,thetechnique,ortheobserveritarises
becomesmoreill outoftheintimateconnectioninnaturebetweenparticlesandwavesintherealmof
definedasthewave subatomicdimensions.
functionisconfined
Everyparticlehasawaveassociatedwithiteachparticleactuallyexhibitswavelike
toasmallerregion
behavior.Theparticleismostlikelytobefoundinthoseplaceswherethe
undulationsofthewavearegreatest,ormostintense.Themoreintensethe
undulationsoftheassociatedwavebecome,however,themoreilldefinedbecomes
thewavelength,whichinturndeterminesthemomentumoftheparticle.Soastrictly
localizedwavehasanindeterminatewavelengthitsassociatedparticle,while
havingadefiniteposition,hasnocertainvelocity.Aparticlewavehavingawell
definedwavelength,ontheotherhand,isspreadouttheassociatedparticle,while
havingaratherprecisevelocity,maybealmostanywhere.Aquiteaccurate
measurementofoneobservableinvolvesarelativelylargeuncertaintyinthe
measurementoftheother.

Theuncertaintyprincipleisalternativelyexpressedintermsofaparticle's
momentumandposition.Themomentumofaparticleisequaltotheproductofits
masstimesitsvelocity.Thus,theproductoftheuncertaintiesinthemomentumand
thepositionofaparticleequalsh/(2)ormore.Theprincipleappliestootherrelated
(conjugate)pairsofobservables,suchasenergyandtime:theproductofthe
uncertaintyinanenergymeasurementandtheuncertaintyinthetimeinterval
duringwhichthemeasurementismadealsoequalsh/(2)ormore.Thesamerelation
holds,foranunstableatomornucleus,betweentheuncertaintyinthequantityof
energyradiatedandtheuncertaintyinthelifetimeoftheunstablesystemasitmakes
atransitiontoamorestablestate.
thewavenatureto Theuncertaintyprinciple,developedbyW.Heisenberg,isastatementoftheeffects
particlesmeansa ofwaveparticledualityonthepropertiesofsubatomicobjects.Considerthe
particleisawave conceptofmomentuminthewavelikemicroscopicworld.Themomentumofwave
isgivenbyitswavelength.Awavepacketlikeaphotonorelectronisacompositeof
packet,thecomposite manywaves.Therefore,itmustbemadeofmanymomentums.Buthowcanan
ofmanywaves objecthavemanymomentums?
manywaves=many
momentums, Ofcourse,onceameasurementoftheparticleismade,asinglemomentumis
observationmakes observed.But,likefuzzyposition,momentumbeforetheobservationisintrinsically
onemomentumout uncertain.Thisiswhatisknowastheuncertaintyprinciple,thatcertainquantities,
suchasposition,energyandtime,areunknown,exceptbyprobabilities.Initspurest
ofmany
form,theuncertaintyprinciplestatesthataccurateknowledgeofcomplementarity
exactknowledgeof pairsisimpossible.Forexample,youcanmeasurethelocationofanelectron,but
complementarity notitsmomentum(energy)atthesametime.
pairs(position,
energy,time)is
impossible
complementarityalso Acharacteristicfeatureofquantumphysicsistheprincipleofcomplementarity,
meansthatdifferent which"impliestheimpossibilityofanysharpseparationbetweenthebehaviorof
experimentsyield atomicobjectsandtheinteractionwiththemeasuringinstrumentswhichserveto
definetheconditionsunderwhichthephenomenaappear."Asaresult,"evidence
differentresults(e.g.
obtainedunderdifferentexperimentalconditionscannotbecomprehendedwithina
thetwoslit singlepicture,butmustberegardedascomplementaryinthesensethatonlythe
experiment) totalityofthephenomenaexhauststhepossibleinformationabouttheobjects."This
therefore,asingle interpretationofthemeaningofquantumphysics,whichimpliedanalteredviewof
realitycannotbe themeaningofphysicalexplanation,graduallycametobeacceptedbythemajority
appliedatthe ofphysicistsduringthe1930's.
quantumlevel
Mathematicallywedescribetheuncertaintyprincipleasthefollowing,where`x'is
positionand`p'ismomentum:

themathematical ThisisperhapsthemostfamousequationnexttoE=mc2 inphysics.Itbasicallysays


formofthe thatthecombinationoftheerrorinpositiontimestheerrorinmomentummust
uncertaintyprinciple alwaysbegreaterthanPlanck'sconstant.So,youcanmeasurethepositionofan
relates electrontosomeaccuracy,butthenitsmomentumwillbeinsideaverylargerange
complementaryto ofvalues.Likewise,youcanmeasurethemomentumprecisely,butthenitsposition
isunknown.
Planck'sconstant
knowledgeisnot Noticethatthisisnotthemeasurementprobleminanotherform,thecombinationof
unlimited,builtin position,energy(momentum)andtimeareactuallyundefinedforaquantumparticle
indeterminacyexists, untilameasurementismade(thenthewavefunctioncollapses).
butonlyinthe
Alsonoticethattheuncertaintyprincipleisunimportanttomacroscopicobjects
microscopicworld,
allcollapsesto sincePlanck'sconstant,h,issosmall(10 34 ).Forexample,theuncertaintyin
determinisminthe positionofathrownbaseballis10 30 millimeters.
macroscopicworld Thedepthoftheuncertaintyprincipleisrealizedwhenweaskthequestionisour
knowledgeofrealityunlimited?Theanswerisno,becausetheuncertaintyprinciple
statesthatthereisabuiltinuncertainty,indeterminacy,unpredictabilitytoNature.

Itisoftenstatedthatofallthetheoriesproposedinthis
century,thesilliestisquantumtheory.Somesaythetheonly
thingthatquantumtheoryhasgoingforit,infact,isthatit
isunquestionablycorrect.

R.Feynman

QuantumMechanics:

quantummechanics Thefieldofquantummechanicsconcernsthedescriptionofphenomenononsmall
istothemicroscopic scaleswhereclassicalphysicsbreaksdown.Thebiggestdifferencebetweenthe
worldwhatclassic classicalandmicroscopicrealm,isthatthequantumworldcanbenotbeperceived
directly,butratherthroughtheuseofinstruments.Andakeyassumptiontoan
mechanicsand quantumphysicsisthatquantummechanicalprinciplesmustreducetoNewtonian
calculusistothe principlesatthemacroscopiclevel(thereisacontinuitybetweenquantumand
macroscopicworld Newtonianmechanics).
itistheoperational
processofcalculating Quantummechanicswascapableofbringingordertotheuncertaintyofthe
quantumphysics microscopicworldbytreatmentofthewavefunctionwithnewmathematics.Keyto
thisideawasthefactthatrelativeprobabilitiesofdifferentpossiblestatesarestill
phenomenon
determinedbylaws.Thus,thereisadifferencebetweentheroleofchancein
itsprimarytaskisto quantummechanicsandtheunrestrictedchaosofalawlessUniverse.
bringorderand
predictiontothe Everyquantumparticleischaracterizedbyawavefunction.In1925Erwin
uncertaintyofthe Schrodingerdevelopedthedifferentialequationwhichdescribestheevolutionof
quantumworld,its thosewavefunctions.ByusingSchrodingerequation,scientistscanfindthewave
maintoolis functionwhichsolvesaparticularprobleminquantummechanics.Unfortunately,it
isusuallyimpossibletofindanexactsolutiontotheequation,socertain
Schrodinger's
assumptionsareusedinordertoobtainanapproximateanswerfortheparticular
equation problem.
thekeydifference Thedifferencebetweenquantummechanicsandnewtonianmechanicsistheroleof
betweenquantum probabilityandstatistics.Whiletheuncertaintyprinciplemeansthatquantum
andclassical objectshavetobedescribedbyprobabilityfields,thisdoesn'tmeanthatthe
microscopicworldfailstoconformtodeterministiclaws.Infactitdoes.And
mechanicsistherole measurementisanactbywhichthemeasurerandthemeasuredinteracttoproducea
ofprobabilityand result.Althoughthisisnotsimplythedeterminationofapreexistingproperty.
chance
quantumobjectsare Thequantumdescriptionofrealityisobjective(weakform)inthesensethat
describedby everyonearmedwithaquantumphysicseducationcandothesameexperimentsand
probabilityfields, cometothesameconclusions.Strongobjectivity,asinclassicalphysics,requires
thatthepictureoftheworldyieldedbythesumtotalofallexperimentalresultstobe
however,thisdoes
notjustapictureormodel,butidenticalwiththeobjectiveworld,somethingthat
notmeantheyare existsoutsideofusandpriortoanymeasurementwemighthaveofit.Quantum
indeterminit,only physicsdoesnothavethischaracteristicduetoitsbuiltinindeterminacy.
uncertain
Forcenturies,scientistshavegottenusedtotheideathatsomethinglikestrong
objectivityisthefoundationofknowledge.Somuchsothatwehavecometo
believethatitisanessentialpartofthescientificmethodandthatwithoutthismost
solidkindofobjectivitysciencewouldbepointlessandarbitrary.However,the
Copenhageninterpretationofquantumphysics(seebelow)deniesthatthereisany
suchthingasatrueandunambiguousrealityatthebottomofeverything.Realityis
whatyoumeasureittobe,andnomore.Nomatterhowuncomfortablescienceis
withthisviewpoint,quantumphysicsisextremelyaccurateandisthefoundationof
modernphysics(perhapsthenanobjectiveviewofrealityisnotessentialtothe
conductofphysics).Andconcepts,suchascauseandeffect,surviveonlyasa
consequenceofthecollectivebehavioroflargequantumsystems.

Schrodinger'sCatandQuantumReality:

anexampleofthe In1935Schrodinger,whowasresponsibleforformulatingmuchofthewave
weirdnessofthe mechanicsinquantumphysics,publishedanessaydescribingtheconceptual
problemsinquantummechanics.Abriefparagraphinthisessaydescribedthe,now
quantumworldis famous,catparadox.
givenbythefamous
Schrodingercat
paradox

theparadoxis Onecanevensetupquiteridiculouscaseswherequantumphysicsrebellsagainst
phrasedsuchthata commonsense.Forexample,consideracatispennedupinasteelchamber,along
quantumevent withthefollowingdiabolicaldevice(whichmustbesecuredagainstdirect
interferencebythecat).InthedeviceisaGeigercounterwithatinybitof
determinesifacatis
radioactivesubstance,sosmallthatperhapsinthecourseofonehouronlyoneof
killedornot theatomsdecays,butalso,withequalprobability,perhapsnone.Ifthedecay
fromaquantum happens,thecountertubedischargesandthrougharelayreleasesahammerwhich
perspective,the shattersasmallflaskofhydrocyanicacid.Ifonehasleftthisentiresystemtoitself
wholesystemstateis foranhour,onewouldsaythatthecatstilllivesifmeanwhilenoatomhasdecayed.
tiedtothewave Thefirstatomicdecaywouldhavepoisonedit.Thewavefunctionfortheentire
functionofthe systemwouldexpressthisbyhavinginitthelivingandthedeadcatmixedor
quantumevent,i.e. smearedoutinequalparts.
thecatisbothdead
andaliveatthesame
time
theparadoxinsome Itistypicalofthesecasesthatanindeterminacyoriginallyrestrictedtotheatomic
senseisnota domainbecomestransformedintomacroscopicindeterminacy,whichcanthenbe
paradox,butinstead resolvedbydirectobservation.Thatpreventsusfromsonaivelyacceptingasvalida
``blurredmodel''forrepresentingreality.Initselfitwouldnotembodyanything
pointsoutthetension unclearorcontradictory.Thereisadifferencebetweenashakyoroutoffocus
betweenthe photographandasnapshotofcloudsandfogbanks.Weknowthatsuperpositionof
microscopicand possibleoutcomesmustexistsimultaneouslyatamicroscopiclevelbecausewecan
macroscopicworlds observeinterferenceeffectsfromthese.Weknow(atleastmostofusknow)thatthe
andtheimportance catintheboxisdead,aliveordyingandnotinasmearedoutstatebetweenthe
oftheobserverina alternatives.Whenandhowdoesthemodelofmanymicroscopicpossibilities
quantumscenario resolveitselfintoaparticularmacroscopicstate?Whenandhowdoesthefogbank
quantumobjects ofmicroscopicpossibilitiestransformitselftotheblurredpicturewehaveofa
definitemacroscopicstate.Thatisthecollapseofthewavefunctionproblemand
existin Schrodinger'scatisasimpleandelegantexplanationofthatproblem.
superposition,many
states,asshownby
interference
theobserver
collapsesthewave
function

Macroscopic/MicroscopicWorldInterface:

eventsinthe ThemacroscopicworldisNewtoniananddeterministicforlocalevents(note
microscopicworld howeverthateventhemacroscopicworldsuffersfromchaos).Ontheotherhand,the
canhappen microscopicquantumworldradicalindeterminacylimitsanycertaintysurrounding
theunfoldingofphysicalevents.ManythingsintheNewtonianworldare
*without*cause= unpredictablesincewecanneverobtainallthefactorseffectingaphysicalsystem.
indeterminacy But,quantumtheoryismuchmoreunsettlinginthateventsoftenhappenwithout
phenomenonsuchas cause(e.g.radioactivedecay).
tunnelingshowsthat
quantumphysics Notethattheindeterminacyofthemicroscopicworldhaslittleeffecton
leaksintothe macroscopicobjects.Thisisduetothefactthatwavefunctionforlargeobjectsis
extremelysmallcomparedtothesizeofthemacroscopicworld.Yourpersonalwave
macroscopicworld
functionismuchsmallerthananycurrentlymeasurablesizes.Andthe
indeterminacyofthequantumworldisnotcompletebecauseitispossibletoassign
probabilitiestothewavefunction.

But,asSchrodinger'sCatparadoxshowus,theprobabilityrulesofthemicroscopic
worldcanleakintothemacroscopicworld.TheparadoxofSchrodinger'scathas
provokedagreatdealofdebateamongtheoreticalphysicistsandphilosophers.
Althoughsomethinkershavearguedthatthecatactuallydoesexistintwo
superposedstates,mostcontendthatsuperpositiononlyoccurswhenaquantum
systemisisolatedfromtherestofitsenvironment.Variousexplanationshavebeen
advancedtoaccountforthisparadoxincludingtheideathatthecat,orsimplythe
animal'sphysicalenvironment(suchasthephotonsinthebox),canactasan
observer.

Thequestionis,atwhatpoint,orscale,dotheprobabilisticrulesofthequantum
realmgivewaytothedeterministiclawsthatgovernthemacroscopicworld?This
questionhasbeenbroughtintovividreliefbytherecentworkwhereanNISTgroup
confinedachargedberylliumatominatinyelectromagneticcageandthencooledit
withalasertoitslowestenergystate.Inthisstatethepositionoftheatomandits
"spin"(aquantumpropertythatisonlymetaphoricallyanalogoustospininthe
ordinarysense)couldbeascertainedtowithinaveryhighdegreeofaccuracy,
limitedbyHeisenberg'suncertaintyprinciple.

decoherenceprevents Theworkersthenstimulatedtheatomwithalaserjustenoughtochangeitswave
amacroscopic functionaccordingtothenewwavefunctionoftheatom,itnowhada50percent
Schrodingercat probabilityofbeingina"spinup"stateinitsinitialpositionandanequal
probabilityofbeingina"spindown"stateinapositionasmuchas80nanometers
paradox away,avastdistanceindeedfortheatomicrealm.Ineffect,theatomwasintwo
newtechnology differentplaces,aswellastwodifferentspinstates,atthesametimeanatomic
allowsthe analogofacatbothlivinganddead.
manipulationof
objectsatthe TheclinchingevidencethattheNISTresearchershadachievedtheirgoalcamefrom
quantumlevel theirobservationofaninterferencepatternthatphenomenonisatelltalesignthata
singleberylliumatomproducedtwodistinctwavefunctionsthatinterferedwith
futureresearchwill
eachother.
investigateareas
suchasquantum ThemodernviewofquantummechanicsstatesthatSchrodinger'scat,orany
teleportationand macroscopicobject,doesnotexistassuperpositionsofexistencedueto
quantumcomputing decoherence.Apristinewavefunctioniscoherent,i.e.undisturbedbyobservation.
ButSchrodinger'scatisnotapristinewavefunction,itsisconstantlyinteracting
withotherobjects,suchasairmoleculesinthebox,ortheboxitself.Thusa
macroscopicobjectbecomesdecoherentbymanyatomicinteractionswithits
surroundingenvironment.

Decoherenceexplainswhywedonotroutinelyseequantumsuperpositionsinthe
worldaroundus.Itisnotbecausequantummechanicsintrinsicallystopsworkingfor
objectslargerthansomemagicsize.Instead,macroscopicobjectssuchascatsand
cardsarealmostimpossibletokeepisolatedtotheextentneededtoprevent
decoherence.Microscopicobjects,incontrast,aremoreeasilyisolatedfromtheir
surroundingssothattheyretaintheirquantumsecretsandquantumbehavior.

Fission/Fusion:

sincequantumevents Oneofthesurprisingresultsofquantumphysicsisthatifaphysicaleventisnot
donothavea specificallyforbiddenbyaquantumrule,thanitcanandwillhappen.Whilethis
"cause",thisalso maystrange,itisadirectresultoftheuncertaintyprinciple.Thingsthatarestrict
lawsinthemacroscopicworld,suchastheconversationofmassandenergy,canbe
meansthatall brokeninthequantumworldwiththecaveatthattheycanonlybrokenforvery
possiblequantum smallintervalsoftime(lessthanaPlancktime).Theviolationofconservationlaws
eventsmustandwill ledtotheoneofthegreatestbreakthroughsoftheearly20thcentury,the
happen understandingofradioactivitydecay(fission)andthesourceofthepowerinstars
withoutcauseand (fusion).
effect,conservation
Nuclearfissionisthebreakdownoflargeatomicnucleiintosmallerelements.This
lawscanbeviolated,
canhappenspontaneously(radioactivedecay)orinducedbythecollisionwitha
althoughonlyon freeneutron.Spontaneouslyfissionisduetothefactthatthewavefunctionofa
veryshorttimescales largenucleiis'fuzzier'thanthewavefunctionofasmallparticlelikethealpha
(thingshavetoadd particle.Theuncertaintyprinciplestatesthat,sometimes,analphaparticle(2
upintheend) protonsand2neutrons)cantunneloutsidethenucleusandescape.
violationof
mass/energyallowed
forthe
understandingofthe
sourceofnuclear
powerinthe
Universe,fissionand
fusion
fissionisthesplitting Inducedfissionoccurswhenafreeneutronstrikesanucleusanddeformsit.Under
ofatomicnuclei, classicalphysics,thenucleuswouldjustreform.However,underquantumphysics
eitherspontaneously thereisafiniteprobabilitythatthedeformednucleuswilltunnelintotwonew
nucleiandreleasesomeneutronsintheprocess,toproduceachainreaction.
orbycollision
(induced) Fusionistheproductionofheavierelementsbythefusingoflighterelements.The
fusionisthemerger processrequireshightemperaturesinordertoproducesufficientlyhighvelocities
ofatomicparticlesto forthetwolightelementstoovercomeeachotherselectrostaticbarriers.
formnewparticles
quantumtunneling Evenforthehightemperaturesinthecenterofastar,fusionrequiresthequantum
anduncertaintyare tunnelingofaneutronorprotontoovercometherepulsiveelectrostaticforcesofan
requiredforthese atomicnuclei.Noticethatbothfissionandfusionreleaseenergybyconvertingsome
ofthenuclearmassintogammarays,thisisthefamousformulationbyEinsteinthat
processes
andquantum E=mc2 .
physics,eventhough Althoughitdealswithprobabilitiesanduncertainties,thequantummechanicshas
centeredon beenspectacularlysuccessfulinexplainingotherwiseinaccessibleatomic
probabilities,isour phenomenaandinmeetingeveryexperimentaltest.Itspredictionsarethemost
mostaccuratescience preciseandthebestcheckedofanyinphysicssomeofthemhavebeentestedand
initspredictions foundaccuratetobetterthanonepartperbillion.

Antimatter:

symmetryin Acombinationofquantummechanicsandrelativityallowsustoexaminesubatomic
quantumphysics processesinanewlight.Symmetryisveryimportanttophysicaltheories.Thus,the
leadtotheprediction existenceofatypeof`opposite'matterwashypothesizedsoonafterthedevelopment
ofquantumphysics.`Opposite'matteriscalledantimatter.Particlesofantimatterhas
ofoppositematter,or
thesamemassandcharacteristicsofregularmatter,butoppositeincharge.When
antimatter matterandantimattercomeincontacttheyarebothinstantaneouslyconvertedinto
matterand pureenergy,intheformofphotons.
antimattercan
combinetoform Antimatterisproducedallthetimebythecollisionofhighenergyphotons,a
pureenergy,andthe processcalledpairproduction,whereanelectronanditsantimattertwin(the
oppositeistrue, positron)arecreatedfromenergy(E=mc2 ).Atypicalspacetimediagramofpair
energycancombine productionlookslikethefollowing:
toform
matter/antimatter
pairs

spacetimediagrams Positronsonlysurviveforashorttimesincetheyareattractedtootherelectronsand
provideabackwards disintegrate.Sincequantummechanicsstatesthatenergy,timeandspacecanbe
timeinterpretation violated,anotherwayoflookingatpairproductionistostatethatthepositrondoes
notexist,butratheritisanelectrontravelingbackwardsintime.Sinceitisgoing
forantimatter,
backwardsintime,itschargewouldbereversedanditsspacetimediagramwould
symmetryinspace
andtime looklikethefollowing:

thequantumworld Inthisinterpretation,thecollisionofanelectronandtwophotonscausesthe
leadstonewwaysof electrontogobackwardintimetillitmeetsanotherpairofphotons,thenreverses
lookingatexistence itselfagain.Theworldofquantumphysicsallowsformanysuchstrangeviewsof
subatomicinteractions.
andreality

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