📚 Learning Guide
Energy and Uncertainty in Quantum Mechanics
hard

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle implies that increasing the precision of measuring a particle's position decreases the precision of measuring its energy, but it does not affect the measurement of its momentum. True or False?

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A

True

B

False

Understanding the Answer

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Answer

False. The Heisenberg principle links the uncertainty in position to the uncertainty in momentum, not to energy. The energy–time uncertainty relation, ΔE Δt ≥ ħ/2, is separate and involves time rather than position. Thus making position very precise forces the momentum to become less precise, while energy is only indirectly affected through the particle’s dynamics, not directly by position. For example, if you pin a particle to a tiny spot, its momentum spread grows, but the energy uncertainty is governed by how long you observe it, not by how sharply you know its location.

Detailed Explanation

The principle links position and momentum. Other options are incorrect because The misconception is that momentum stays exact.

Key Concepts

Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
Energy-Momentum Relation
Expectation Values
Topic

Energy and Uncertainty in Quantum Mechanics

Difficulty

hard level question

Cognitive Level

understand

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