Dictionary

Heisenberg uncertainty principle en · PROPN

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).

Meanings

1. (qualifier: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.

Relateds

Planck's constant

Synonyms

Heisenberg principle · indeterminacy principle · uncertainty principle

Translations (14)

ja ハイゼンベルグの不確定性原理 (physical principle) · es principio de indeterminación de Heisenberg (physical principle) · ru при́нцип неопределённости Гейзенбе́рга (physical principle) · fr principe d'incertitude d'Heisenberg (physical principle) · de Unschärferelation (physical principle) · pl zasada nieoznaczoności Heisenberga (physical principle) · fi Heisenbergin epätarkkuusperiaate (physical principle) · cmn 海森堡不確定性原理 /海森堡不确定性原理 (physical principle) · de Heisenbergsche Unschärferelation (physical principle) · ko 하이젠베르크 불확실성 원리 (physical principle) · it principio di indeterminazione di Heisenberg (physical principle) · ro principiul incertitudinii al lui Heisenberg (physical principle) · el αρχή της απροσδιοριστίας του Χάιζενμπεργκ (physical principle) · hu Heisenberg-féle határozatlansági elv (physical principle)