Heisenberg uncertainty principle

American  

noun

Physics.

1. uncertainty principle.

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Heisenberg uncertainty principle British  

/ ˈhaɪzənˌbɜːɡ /

noun

1. a more formal name for uncertainty principle

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Heisenberg uncertainty principle Cultural  

1. See uncertainty principle.

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Etymology

Origin of Heisenberg uncertainty principle

First recorded in 1965–70; named after W. K. Heisenberg

Example Sentences

Since a bolometer measures power, or photon number, it is not bound to add quantum noise stemming from the Heisenberg uncertainty principle in the way that parametric amplifiers are.

From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2024

Others exploit the trade-offs implicit in the famous Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 27, 2022

This is known as the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Whereas the clockwork universe has been invalidated by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics, quantum mechanics remains devilishly hard to interpret philosophically.

From Scientific American • May 8, 2015

Because we have some information about the particles’ position, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle implies that we must have some uncertainty about the particles’ velocity—their energy.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife