Uncertainty relation Definition and 44 Threads

Hi I have just been looking at the derivation of the uncertainty relationship for non-commutating operators. I have come across the following quote in Quantum Mechanics by Mandl regarding the time-energy relationship. "Time is not an operator ; it is an ordinary parameter which commutes with...

I'm studying orbital angular momentum in the quantum domain, and I've come up with the Robertson uncertainty relation for the components of orbital angular momentum. Therefore, I read that it is necessary to pay attention to the triviality problem, because in the case where the commutator is...

I am guessing time-energy uncertainty relation is the way to solve this. I solved the Schrodinger equation for both the regions and used to continuity at ##x=-a, 0,a## and got ##\psi(-a<x<0) = A\sin(\kappa(x+a))## and ##\psi(0<x<a) = -A\sin(\kappa(x-a))## where ##\kappa^2 = 2mE/\hbar^2##...

How do you prove Heisenberg uncertainty relations for mixed states (density matrix), only from knowing the relation is true for pure states?

Hey guys , my lecturer introduced a new concept with reference to the commutation of two operators.He claimed that if two commutators commute then they can be simultaneously measured.I can clearly see how this works.He then went on and state if they don't commute they can't simultaneously be...

I was musing about why the HUP is an inequality. If you analyse a wave packet the spatial frequency spectral width is inversely proportional to the spatial width. So there should be an equality such as Heisenberg's equation 3 in this paper. Has anyone got a simple explanation of where the...

Homework Statement Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution The answer is different though,

Are there fundamental limits on the accuracy for measuring both position ##q## at time ##t## and momentum ##p## at time ##t+\Delta t##, with tiny ##\Delta t##? If yes, why? If no, why can't one then measure (in principle) both ##q## and ##p## arbitrarily well at the same time ##p## (which is...

Here is the new thread. Please justify your criticism of my statement.

Suppose we have an elementary double-slit experiment: A laser fires individual photons through a double slit at a detectionscreen made of atoms. As we fire photons, an interference pattern emerges, exposing the momentum of the photons (the frequency of the laser). So, we have registration of...

Homework Statement Consider a particle with mass m oscillates in a simple harmonic potential with frequency ω. The position, x, and momentum operator, p, of the particle can be expressed in terms of the annihilation and creation operator (a and a† respectively): x = (ħ/2mω)^0.5 * (a† + a) p =...

What is the relation between "superposition" and "the Heisenberg uncertainty relation"?

For an electron can I not do the following to determine both the position and momentum? I take a screen with a small hole and I eventually make the hole smaller and smaller. Cathode rays emitted will hence get diffracted after passing through the hole making momentum more and more uncertain...

Homework Statement Show that the uncertainty relation can be written as Δλ Δx >= λ^2 /4π Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution Ok the uncertainty relation is ΔpΔx >= h/2π , also p = h/λ , so substituting that I have Δh/λ Δx >= h/2π , then divide both sides by h, and multiply both sides...

Homework Statement The (classical) energy of one-dimensional linear oscillator is a) show, using the uncertainty relation, that the energy can be written as b) Show that the minimum energy of the oscillator is Where Homework Equations Δp Δx >= ħ/2 p ≈ ħ/2x The Attempt at a Solution I'm...

In an earlier thread of mine, another physics forums member was nice enough to point out that there is an uncertainty relation between photon number and wave phase for light. https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/is-there-a-frequency-eigenstate-for-light.727141/ Now I am wondering, where does...

I am reading this: http://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0609163.pdf And Demystifier claims that "The time-energy uncertainty relation is not fundamental" However the proof is done in non-relativistic QM, where t and x are treated differently. My question is, what's about relativistic QM?

In the derivation of the generalized uncertainty principle (as pgs 1-2 of here), there is an anticommutator term that is dropped at the end, leaving just the commutator part...this is said to "strengthen" the relation, as both terms are positive. I don't understand this. So we basically have...

Definition/Summary One of the most asked questions is concerning how to derive the Heisenberg Uncertainty Relation. Starting from almost basic concepts of Quantum Mechanics, a derivation is given here. Some details are left as minor exercises for the interested reader. The derivation...

I'd like to know what exactly it's telling us. Does it mean that the more accurately we measure the energy of a system the less accurately we know for how long the system has been in that range of energies? Or does it mean that the more accurately energy is measured the less accurately we know...

Homework Statement The position of a 60-gram golf ball sitting on a tee is determined within +- 1μm. What is its minimum possi- ble energy? Moving at the speed corresponding to this kinetic energy, how far would the ball move in a year?Homework Equations ## K\geq\dfrac {\hbar ^{2}} {2ma^{2}}...

Finally I found the time to write my account on the interpretation of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle vs. the question whether it can be interpreted as Heisenberg did in his very first paper on the subject. Although it is well known that this interpretation is not compatible with quantum...

I was trying to Go from the uncertainty principle to its energy-time counter part. i know the maths is a bit off,but the idea is correct? dx=position p=momentum e=energy \upsilon=frequency \lambda=wavelength c=velocity of electromagnetic radiations dt=time now , \lambda=h/p....(i)...

"Show that the uncertainty relation forces us to reject the semiclassical Bohr [...]" Homework Statement The problem along with the solution is attached as TheProblemAndSolution.jpg. Homework Equations Uncertainty principle/relation. The Attempt at a Solution Why is it the consideration of...

There is an uncertainty relation between the x component and the y component of the angular momentum L of a particle, because [Lx, Ly] = i\hbarLz which is not 0. But what happens when Lz does equal 0? Would we in principle be able to measure both the x and y components of the angular...

General Relatitivity predicts Timelike curves and there are nonlinear extensions of mechanics which resolve the paradoxical aspects of CTC's *i.e. Time Travel, on the other hand Hawking proposed a conjeture to rule out CTCs, the Chronology Protection Conjecture* there are a class of Timelike...

Can anybody clear this up for me? In his Chicago lectures in 1930, Heisenberg is quoted as saying “The uncertainty relation does not hold for the past…If the velocity of the electron is at first known, and the position then exactly measured, the position of the electron for times previous...

Derive the relation Δn.Δσ ≥ 1/2 where n is number of photons in an EM field and σ is phase Using heisenburgs uncetertainty principle? Tried subbing in frequency into heisenburgs uncertainty principle to get to the number of photons and to get rid of mometum is this the right line? Dont...

I have been trying to figure out other pairs of variables in Heisenberg's uncertainty relationship apart from the well known position-momentum and time-energy pairs. I am particularly interested in electric fireld strength and magnetic field strenght. The reason for my interest is that if I...

Homework Statement So I have this homework question and the answer that was given to me to check the answer that I have does not match with my answer. The question I have to complete is shown below: The answer given to me is D, 6.6eV Homework Equations \Deltat\DeltaE = h/2...

HI, I will not used the template provided since this is not a textbook problem. It's a problem I have with a demonstration in Quantum Mechanics Vol 1, Cohen-Tannoudji " Complement C III [Q,P] = i \hbar Consider the ket: |\phi \rangle = (Q +i\lambda P)|\psi \rangle where \lambda is an...

Homework Statement Show that the smallest possible uncertainty in the position of an electron whose speed is given by \beta = v/c is \Delta x_{min} = \frac{h}{4 \pi m_0 c}\sqrt{1-\beta^2} The Attempt at a Solution Since \Delta x \Delta p \geq \frac{\hbar}{2} , we see that \Delta x_{min}...

Homework Statement I am trying to understand how we go about calculating the density of states in situations where the available quantum states are continuous, e.g. electrons in a white dwarf. I am happy to accept the uncertainty relation (we learned to derive it as the product of the...

hey, can someone show me the step between these two lines of equations please: (\Delta A)^2=<\psi|A^2|\psi>-<\psi|A|\psi>^2 =<\psi|(A-<A>)^2|\psi> where A is an operator and \psi is the wavefunction and <A> is the expectation value of A

Are there experiments which you can claim that they are the evidence of the time-energy uncertainty relation? Or can you write which experiments can be directly related to this uncertainty relation? i.e A beta decay or a strange effect in (quantum) optics... everything you have in mind...

Say we have two non-commutative operator A, B. Now I have prepared identical systems in eigenstate of A, then I measure the observable of A, and then B immediately after. Then I must have delta A=0, so no matter what delta B is, the product is 0, seems to violate the uncertainty relation...

Homework Statement Could someone please have a look at this? I am to show that from the inequation \langle\left \psi | \hbar^2D^2 | \psi\right\rangle + mk\langle \left\psi | x^2 | \psi\right\rangle\geq\hbar\sqrt{mk} you can get the Heisenberg uncertainty relation \langle\psi |...

Homework Statement Hi guys! Many time reader, first time poster... I've struggled big time with the following. Any advice at all would be great. I'm so muddled, it's just not funny any more... (plus I'm not really familiar with who to write the mathematic script so please be patient) I...

Can anyone explain how to interpret Heisenberg's relation Delta(E)*Delta(t)>=hbar in case of "annihilation" and or "creation" of (elementary) particles: 1) in case of virtual particles 2) in case of antiparticles ? Is it eventually useful, if I may say so, to discriminate between the...

The general uncertainty relation between two observables A and B. (\Delta A)^2(\Detla B)^2 \geq -{1\over 4}<[A, B]>^2 I have to prove the above relation using the definition of expection values etc. The reference I use (Liboff) have this relation given as an exercise. But Gasiorowicz's book...

I'm not sure whether this has been discussed before. If one just looks at Heisenberg's uncertainty relation (energy-time), one easily sees that this is not Lorentz invariant. Even very simple results, such as the energy of a particle in a potential well seems not to transform according to the...

How should \Delta E \Delta t \geq \hbar/2 be interpreted? When does it apply? Delta t refers to the time of what? etc. Thx.

Is there a certain fixed degree of uncertainty? Like for example, we can't reach absolute zero because we would know both the momentum and position of the particle. But if it is say, 3-4 K above absolute zero, there would be a really small degree of uncertainty involved, because its quite...

Is there an operator which corresponds to time whose commutator with the Hamiltonian equals ih? I mean, when you collapse the wave function by taking an energy measurement, then at that instant the uncertainty in energy is 0. But then as times goes on the state will be that energy eigenstate and...