eli5 How do we know we’re not just wrong when we say there’s uncertainty in particle physics

252 views

So given how for example we can’t know an electron’s position and velocity at the same time and other small scale observations and measurements involve uncertainty and randomness. Is there any solid proof that we’re not just wrong? I know all science is inherently possibly wrong and is a model of best fit but this part of science in particular seems so arbitrary to actually be a good model.

In: 1

4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

You may be misunderstanding the uncertainty principle. It doesn’t say that we can’t know/measure position and velocity simultaneously. It says, as a consequence of the wave nature of matter, that the two properties are intrinsically linked and in fact together do not have arbitrarily definite values. You can’t know position and velocity the way you can’t make a square with angles adding up to 400 degrees. The more precisely defined one is, the less precisely defined the other is. It’s a mathematical consequence of quantum mechanics.

Quantum mechanics could be wrong, but all experimental evidence has shown it to be right. Actually, something has to be wrong with current physics because general relativity and quantum mechanics can’t be reconciled on some fundamental issues, but that’s beyond ELI5 and actually beyond what I can explain at all. They’re wrong in the way Newtonian mechanics is wrong: right enough to be useful to us, but still missing something fundamental about how the universe works.

You are viewing 1 out of 4 answers, click here to view all answers.