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Energy and Uncertainty in Quantum Mechanics
hard

In the context of quantum mechanics, how does the complementarity principle relate to the uncertainty in measuring both the energy and the position of entangled particles?

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Choose the Best Answer

A

The complementarity principle allows for precise measurement of both energy and position at the same time.

B

The complementarity principle states that measuring the energy of one particle will not affect the position measurement of its entangled partner.

C

The uncertainty in measuring energy and position is a consequence of the complementarity principle, indicating that both cannot be precisely known simultaneously.

D

Quantum entanglement leads to certainty in measuring both energy and position for each particle.

Understanding the Answer

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Answer

In quantum mechanics, the complementarity principle says that certain pairs of properties, like energy and position, cannot be known precisely at the same time because they are linked by the uncertainty relation. For entangled particles, measuring the energy of one particle immediately fixes the energy of its partner, but this act disturbs the position information of both, making their exact positions uncertain. The reasoning follows from the fact that the operators for energy and position do not commute, so their measurement outcomes are statistically linked and cannot be simultaneously sharp. For example, if two photons are entangled and you measure one photon's energy very accurately, the other photon's position becomes highly uncertain, illustrating how complementarity enforces the trade‑off between energy precision and positional certainty.

Detailed Explanation

The complementarity principle says that some pairs of properties cannot be known exactly at the same time. Other options are incorrect because It is a common idea that measuring energy can give you an exact position, but the principle says otherwise; The misconception is that measuring one particle does not affect its partner.

Key Concepts

probabilities in quantum mechanics
complementarity principle
quantum entanglement.
Topic

Energy and Uncertainty in Quantum Mechanics

Difficulty

hard level question

Cognitive Level

understand

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