What is the Uncertainty Principle?

The Heisenberg uncertainty principle - in a nutshell!
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Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in a minute!

In this episode, we talk about the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and how it's not really that weird - it's just a property of waves!

Music by Nathaniel Schroeder
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[Andythemn3]

Step 1: Download all audio from every Minute Physic video

Step 2: Listen in infinite loop during sleep

Step 3: Wake up as a genius

[THEEVANTHETOON]

A physicist was driving down the free-way, when he got pulled over by a cop.

Cop-"Sir, do you know how fast you were going?"

Physicist-"No, but I know where I am."

[HamzaNYC]

@D3m190d LOL

[danegunjic]

@Andythemn3 its not possible to remember stuff when you are sleeping

[D3m190d]

Q: Why are quantum physicists so poor at sex?

A: Because when they find the position, they can't find the momentum, and when they have the momentum, they can't find the position.

[TheDanielRagsdale]

@taa347 Quad Nerdfighter bump

[taa347]

@megaexplosions and @Dastweeper

*Triple nerdfighter bump* neither of you forgot to be awesome :D

[ASwiftHippie]

Um... why can't you know both at the same time?

[Dastweeper]

@megaexplosions EXACTLY what I was gonna say. *Nerdfigher bump*

[megaexplosions]

@THEEVANTHETOON the cop decides this peculiar answer is grounds for a search, and finds a dead cat in the trunk. "Did you know that there is a dead cat in your trunk?" "No, but I do now."

[Hinduspy]

I like to think of it like this: If you want to know exactly where the electron is, you need to use a microscope to see it. The microscope will emit photons, which will cause the electron to gain energy and start jumping around all over the place. So the image you get of the electron is actually where it WAS in the past, not where it is now. If you want to know the speed of the electron, you can measure that too, but you can't know where it is while it is jumping around.

[Hinduspy]

@Andythemn3 Since when does learning by osmosis work again? :P

[chocoboblue99]

I think I got! lol

Just thinking about an ocean wave. We can't really know where a wave is because it's spread out, but we can know how much it is going.

[Tridecalogism]

This taught me more about the uncertainty principle than sixty symbols did. Broke it down so a simpleton could understand it...

[naradia95]

@BoaVenom18 LOL exactly. I don't know why, but I always miss something or the other that's important and I have to watch that part again. This usually happens like 4-5 times per episode. :P

[MyWorldOfBlocks]

@ObjectiveImpact Oh now I get it....so we are all safe.

[ObjectiveImpact]

@MyWorldOfBlocks nope. If object is vibrating, you must "freez" it before you can determine where exactlly is it located. If object if vibrating you cant determine its location because it doesnt have location because its vibrating therefore moving. So if you freez object, you can determine its location, but now you cant determine its speed, because it isnt vibrating anymore, its frozen.

[Customgamer9]

@Andythemn3 so if thats how you become a genius, how did these guys do it?

[BoaVenom18]

whenever I go to bed one second I'm awake the next second BOOM! I'm waking up

that's kinda like these videos he starts to explain it, I think about pizza for 1 second, BOOM he says "and that's the uncertainty principal in a nuthsell"

[ricktbdgc]

@Andythemn3 Or wake up and you can play the bass guitar like a champ

[coconutcreampie123]

please make a video with vi hart

[MyWorldOfBlocks]

but what if i have two people measure one wave, and one measure the speed and the other measures the location...Then they share their results...world go boom?

[Nasbayern]

didn't understand! :(

[pandaman434]

nyan sheep!

[goodmmann123]

Sormak

[anaikahas]

@JakornSpocknocker I hadn't really noticed till now, but yeah it's pretty cool :)

[Daniil101]

@Andythemn3 step 4: ?????????????? Profit