Abstract
WRITERS appear either to introduce or to illustrate the uncertainty principle by supposing that a fundamental particle such as an electron is viewed through a microscope to determine its position at the same time as measurement is being made of its momentum1. The error in the position of the particle is accepted to be δx in the formula for the resolution power of a microscope, namely, δx λ/sin θ. This formula is derived in optics from a study of the diffraction of light from two equal disks placed close together and from one disk alone.
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References
For example, Gurney, "Elementary Quantum Mechanics", p. 49. Dustman, "Elements of Quantum Mechanics", p. 12. Heisenberg, "The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory", p. 15 (German).
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COWLEY, W. Uncertainty Principle. Nature 163, 492 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/163492a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/163492a0
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The Uncertainty Principle
Nature (1949)
