A base ball of mass 200 g is moving with 3000 cm/s. If we can locate the base ball with an error equal in magnitude to the wavelength of the light used 5000 angstrom, how will the uncertainty in momentum be compared with the total momentum of base ball.

Dear student,

Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle is one of the fundamental concepts of Quantum Physics, and is the basis for the initial realization of fundamental uncertainties in the ability of an experimenter to measure more than one quantum variable at a time. Attempting to measure an elementary particle’s position to the highest degree of accuracy, for example,  leads to an increasing uncertainty in being able to measure the particle’s momentum to an equally high degree of accuracy.  Heisenberg’s Principle is typically written mathematically in either of two forms:  

DE  Dt  ³  h / 4 p            Dx  Dp  ³  h / 4 p

Approved