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Uncertainty principle: Difference between revisions
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'''[[Werner Heisenberg|Heisenberg]]'s uncertainty principle''' stated that the very act of [[measurement|measuring]] something changed its nature. | According to the [[Eighth Doctor]], '''[[Werner Heisenberg|Heisenberg]]'s uncertainty principle''' stated that the very act of [[measurement|measuring]] something changed its nature. | ||
Professor [[Osric (The Time of the Daleks)|Osric]] extrapolated from this that Heisenberg's revolutionary idea, that to observe something was also to change it, might also apply to [[time]]. He believed that using a [[clock]] to measure time, "merely by counting off the seconds, disturb[ed], change[d] time", such that [[time travel]], or at least a view into other times, might be possible with sufficient clocks and [[mirror]]s. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Time of the Daleks (audio story)|The Time of the Daleks]]'') | Professor [[Osric (The Time of the Daleks)|Osric]] extrapolated from this that Heisenberg's revolutionary idea, that to observe something was also to change it, might also apply to [[time]]. He believed that using a [[clock]] to measure time, "merely by counting off the seconds, disturb[ed], change[d] time", such that [[time travel]], or at least a view into other times, might be possible with sufficient clocks and [[mirror]]s. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Time of the Daleks (audio story)|The Time of the Daleks]]'') | ||
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In the real world, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle instead refers to a fundamental limit to what can be known when attempting to precisely measure both position and momentum of a [[particle]] at the same time. When precision is increased in measuring one quantity, precision is lost in measuring the other. | In the real world, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle instead refers to a fundamental limit to what can be known when attempting to precisely measure both position and momentum of a [[particle]] at the same time. When precision is increased in measuring one quantity, precision is lost in measuring the other. | ||
Thus, though both theories suggest that predicting the [[future]] with complete precision should be impossible, they | Thus, though both theories suggest that predicting the [[future]] with complete precision should be impossible, they follow wildly different lines of thought before arriving there. Rather than commenting on the impact of {{w|measurement in quantum mechanics|measurement}} in [[quantum mechanics]], as does the observer effect, the uncertainty principle holds that "we cannot know [even] the ''present'' state of the world in full detail"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heisenbergs-uncertainty-principle-is-not-dead/|title=One Thing Is Certain: Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle Is Not Dead|author=Furuta, Ava|date of source=8 March 2012|website name=Scientific American|accessdate=30 September 2019}}</ref>. | ||
== Footnotes == | == Footnotes == | ||
