Harini Senthilkumar
Grade V
Contents
Introduction
What did Heisenberg do? (complex form)
What did Heisenberg do? (simple form)
Sources
INTRODUCTION
Heisenberg
has done many interesting things!! But, this is my report and based on what I
have read, I chose to write about his Principle of Uncertainty!! You may
wonder, what is that, and who is Heisenberg? But, after reading this, your
questions will soon be solved!
What did
Heisenberg do? (COMPLEX FORM)
In 1927,
Heisenberg was in Denmark, and he was working at his friend, Niels Bohr's
research institute in Copenhagen. Both scientists worked closely on quantum
theory and the nature of physics. Bohr was away, and Heisenberg was left to
ponder things over himself. He was sitting in a chair when he had a shocking
but clear realization about the limits of the physical knowledge!
He
discovered that, the act of observing alters was the reality being observed. To
measure the properties of a particle such as an electron, you need to use a
measuring device, usually light or radiation. But he observed that the energy
in this radiation affected the particle being observed. If you adjust the light
beam to accurately measure position, you need a short-wavelength, high-energy
beam. It would tell you position, but its energy would throw off the momentum
of the particle.
Then, if you
adjust the beam to a longer wavelength and lower energy, you could more closely
measure momentum, but position would be inaccurate. Heisenberg and Bohr
theories were compatible and became known together as the Copenhagen
interpretation and accepted as the foundation for quantum theory.
What did
Heisenberg do? (SIMPLE FORM)
When you go
a baseball game, there is a radar that is shot at the ball to determine the
speed, and the radar never slows down the ball or speeds it up!! If it did, the
radar would be banned from baseball games!!
But in the
world of atoms, things are so small that light waves bouncing off atoms causes
them to change direction and speed, and in some cases, it even knocks the
electrons in the atom away from the atom. Can you imagine being knocked over
when someone shined a flashlight at you? Well, if you were as little as
an atom you would be knocked over by the light from the sun, or in this case, a
flashlight!!
SOURCES
BOOK:
1.
PHYSICS IN 50 MILESTONE MOMENTS - James Lees
