Does the Heisenberg uncertainty principle apply to cars and airplanes?
1 Answer
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle can be applied to anything in motion. As long as the mass, speed, and certainty of speed is known.
The formula goes:
Δx > h/4πmΔv
Where Δx = the uncertainty
h = 6.626 x 10-34 J-s (Plank's constant)
m = mass of object
Δv = the degree of certainty you are given (e.g. "speed is known to within 0.01m/s")
For example:
Calculate the uncertainty in the position of a 1.50mg mosquito moving at a speed of 1.40ms if the speed is known to within 0.01m/s.
First, the speed must be in m/s (we are OK here) and the mass must be in kg. To conver 1.50mg to kg, we must divide 1.50 by 1,000,000. This gives us
Easy and pleasant to read, with all the necessary information can be on this site http://webs.morningside.edu/slaven/Physics/uncertainty/uncertainty6.html