Heisenberg uncertainty principle

Heisenberg uncertainty principle

English

Etymology

Named for Werner Heisenberg, its discoverer, translated into English from a variety of original German terms. Heisenberg originally called the concept Ungenauigkeit (inexactness) or Unbestimmtheit (undeterminedness), whereas his mentor and collaborator Niels Bohr often used Unsicherheit (unsureness). Today in German the most commonly used term for the principle is Unschärfe (blurredness or fuzziness). [1]

Proper noun

Heisenberg uncertainty principle

1. (physics, quantum mechanics) The principle that there is an absolute limit on the combined accuracy of certain pairs of simultaneous, related measurements, especially that of the position and momentum of a particle. Originally posited as a problem of measurement, it was soon refined as an inherent property of the universe.

Synonyms

• uncertainty principle
• indeterminacy principle
• Heisenberg principle

Related terms

• Planck's constant

Translations

physical principle

Chinese: Mandarin: 海森堡不確定性原理／海森堡不确定性原理 (Hǎisēnbǎo bùquèdìngxìng yuánlǐ) Finnish: Heisenbergin epätarkkuusperiaate French: principe d'incertitude d'Heisenberg m German: Heisenbergsche Unschärferelation f, Unschärferelation (de) f Greek: αρχή της απροσδιοριστίας του Χάιζενμπεργκ f (archí tis aprosdioristías tou Cháizenmpergk) Hungarian: Heisenberg-féle határozatlansági elv Italian: principio di indeterminazione di Heisenberg m Japanese: ハイゼンベルグの不確定性原理 (Haizenberugu no fukakuteisei genri) Korean: 하이젠베르크 불확실성 원리 (Haijenbereukeu bulhwaksilseong wolli) Romanian: principiul incertitudinii al lui Heisenberg n Russian: при́нцип неопределённости Гейзенбе́рга m (príncip neopredeljónnosti Gejzenbɛ́rga) Spanish: principio de indeterminación de Heisenberg m

References

1. Postscript to Michael Frayn's Copenhagen (New York : Anchor Books, 2000).