[MD] principle of complimentarity

[markhsmit]

Glad to see you are interested in quantum mechanics, Marsha.  It is one
route into the mystical.  To answer your question, the uncertainty principle,
which is what you are asking about, arises out of the dual nature of matter.
It is both a wave and a particle.  If you treat it like a particle (position) you
miss out on the momentum (wave), and visa versa.  

If you take a snapshot of a runner, you have no idea how fast he is going 
 from the picture.  If you are only measuring his speed
 with a radar, you have no way of knowing where he is
from the reading on the radar.  It's something like that, 
although it can be made much more complicated.

This and other quantum mechanical principles then go on to prove
that we create what we measure.  I have a feeling that all of this arrises out
of a model in physics that is far from perfect.  But where this model
leads us philosophically is fascinating indeed!

Cheers,

Willblake2

On Jul 30, 2009, at 3:27:27 AM, MarshaV <valkyr at att.net> wrote:
From:   MarshaV <valkyr at att.net>
Subject:    [MD] principle of complimentarity
Date:   July 30, 2009 3:27:27 AM PDT
To: moq_discuss at moqtalk.org
Greetings,



Why is it that if we perform an experiment to determine a quantum particle's
position, it excludes knowing only the particle's momentum and not
everything else? 





Marsha













_____________



"He who neglects the present moment throws away all he has." 
(Friedrich von Schiller) 












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