Question

The uncertainty in the position of an electron along an x axis is given as 5 x 10-12 m. What is the least uncertainty in any simultaneous measurement of the momentum component px of this electron?

Answer 1

Answer:

The least uncertainty in the momentum component px is 1 × 10⁻²³ kg.m.s⁻¹.

Explanation:

According to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, the uncertainty in the position of an electron (σx) and the uncertainty in its linear momentum (σpx) are complementary variables and are related through the following expression.

σx . σpx ≥ h/4π

where,

h is the Planck´s constant

If σx = 5 × 10⁻¹²m,

5 × 10⁻¹²m . σpx ≥ 6.63 × 10⁻³⁴ kg.m².s⁻¹/4π

σpx ≥ 1 × 10⁻²³ kg.m.s⁻¹