What is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle? - Chad Orzel

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states that you can never simultaneously know the exact position and the exact speed of an object. Why not? Because everything in the universe behaves like both a particle and a wave at the same time. Chad Orzel navigates this complex concept of quantum physics.

Lesson by Chad Orzel, animation by Henrik Malmgren.

[Dethneko]

Adds a whole new meaning to the phrase, "I see your point, but I don't know where you're going with it."

[emagdali]

I have a much simpler and shorter explanation for the Uncertainty Principle:
Imagine a car moving along a road. If you want to see the exact place where the car is, you must pause time (because it's always moving). You pause time, and you mark its place. While you paused (imagine it like a photo), you CAN'T know its speed. It's a picture. If you want to find out the speed, you must unpause and measure it. But if you unpause, it's impossible to know the exact position of the car because it's changing...

EDIT: Because many people cannot understand that if you put a speed-o-meter in a car you still measure the velocity in an interval and not in a point, imagine it like a video that you pause it and unpause it. You cannot interact with the car to put a speed-o-meter of some sort, because if you do, this is not the same example.


EDIT2 (Years later): Some people are getting confused by the term velocity. A stationary object has 0 velocity in relation to its surroundings. A video shows a moving object that therefore has velocity. A photograph shows a stationary object.

[patrickholmes]

When I'm feeling smart I come here to watch videos and get rid of that nonsense feeling.

[prathameshsawant]

Me to my brain: "Got it?"

My brain: "Never ever dare to show me this again."

[Zackamoca]

They named it the Uncertainty Principle because no one knew what Heisenberg was talking about.

[jbcheema]

"The only thing we are absolutely certain about is that nothing is certain."
-Werner Heisenberg

[hamzamahmood]

"Say my name"

"Uncertainty Principle"

"You're Goddamn right."

[notyouraveragesaiyanwarrio]

You never know when it's Walter White and when Heisenberg kicks in. That's the real Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

[christopherdean]

Heisenberg and Schroedinger are in a car that gets stopped by the police.
Policeman."Do you know you were doing 75mph?"
Heisenberg. "Oh great, now we're lost!"
Cop is not happy, checks the boot/trunk of the car.
Cop. "There is a dead cat in here!"
Schroedinger. "Well, there is NOW!"

[royanque]

Simplify the explanation, you lose the finer details... Elaborate the details, the explanation becomes too complicated...

This is Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

[MrKittycattwenty]

This is the moment Werner became Heisenberg...

[sykickyeeter]

Hats off to scientists, who have to deal with all this complex stuff, So that humanity can advance .

[rodnorris]

A cop stops Heisenberg for speeding and asks him "Do you know how fast you were going?". He replies "No, but I know where I am".

[ScrewDrvr]

I came here to learn. After watching the video, the only thing i've learned is im dumb.

[davelawandra]

I've heard someone describe it as,
"We know the past, we know the future, but time is always moving, and the present is just the nearest past that we can grasp."

[kurushi]

I took quantum chemistry in college. Long story short: I had to seduce my professor.

[bmx]

I'm uncertain of my understanding of the uncertainty principle

[kushagrabansal]

cop: how fast you were going on this road
me: let me tell you a

[shauryapallav]

Electron: exists

Human: saw it

Electron : Well now I don't want to be an electron

[soulja]

This is the moment that Walt became Heisenberg.