Skip to main content
2 of 5
added 45 characters in body
Saturnix
  • 805
  • 7
  • 9

Is the uncertainty principle a property of elementary particles or a result of our measurement tools?

AS I've never studied physics in school in my life, so forgive me for how stupid this question may be.

In many physics divulgation books I've read, this seems to be a commonly accepted point of view (I'm making this quote up, as I don't remember the exact words, but this should give you an idea):

Heisenberg's uncertainty principle is not a result of our lack of proper measurement tools. The fact that we can't precisely know both the position and momentum of an elementary particle is, indeed, a property of the particle itself. It is an intrinsic property of the Universe we live in.

Then this video came out: Heisenberg's Microscope - Sixty Symbols (skip to 2:38, if you're already familiar with the uncertainty principle).

So, correct me if I'm wrong, what we may claim according to the video is:

the only way to measure an elementary particle is to make it interact with another elementary particle: it is therefore incorrect to say that an elementary particle doesn't have a well defined momentum/position before we make our measurement. We cannot access this data (momentum/position) without changing it, therefore it is correct to say that our ignorance about this data is not an intrinsic property of the Universe (but, rather, an important limit of how we can measure it).

Please tell me how can both of the highlighted paragraphs be true or how they should be corrected.

Saturnix
  • 805
  • 7
  • 9