PIRSA:08080022

Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle

Uffink, J. (2008). Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/08080022

Uffink, Jos. Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Perimeter Institute, Aug. 16, 2008, https://pirsa.org/08080022 

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:08080022,
            doi = {},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/08080022},
            author = {Uffink, Jos},
            keywords = {},
            language = {en},
            title = {Heisenberg{\textquoteright}s Uncertainty Principle},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2008},
            month = {aug},
            note = {PIRSA:08080022 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }

Jos Uffink Utrecht University

Collection

Abstract

We will review the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics, first formulated by Werner Heisenberg in 1927, and the role they played in the famous debate between Einstein and Bohr on the meaning of quantum theory. Along the way we will focus on questions like: what do we mean by "uncertainty", and how do we express that in the theory? What, in fact, is a physical property? Does a theory like quantum mechanics provide a description of physical reality? Interestingly, some of these questions do not have a unique answer.