About Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle?

Question

In star trek, a machine called a replica is allegedly capable of rearrnaging matter to create new matter such as turning a clump of copper into food, water, air, or furniture.

Is such technology theoretically possible with Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle?

It seems like rearranging matter would require you to be able to accurately track groups of atoms with computers and somehow attract them into new forms.

Answer 1

"uncertainity principes talks about the fact that you cannot determine the position of electron and it's momentum at the same time because electron itself is revolving around a speed that is comparable with light"
Does this statement make any relation to re-arranging matter?
look first of all people tried to convert lead into gold in early attempts!!! now we know that both lead and electron differ by only one proton.. so somehow if you can introduce one proton in the atom of lead and then somehow stabalize it then you can make gold out of lead..
re-arranging matter can also be done by energy and matter interaction.. if we can convert energy into matter then we have really a great chance to convert that energy int any matter we desire.. because every emegy converts into a specific matter depending on some variables (that are way advanced)..

hope this answers ur question....... Later and Take care

Answer 2

That was called a 'replicator' and I don't remember it as transmuting elements, only manufacturing raw materials into various forms.

Replicators might actually work some day, because they aren't trying to first copy complex objects down to the last atom and then reconstruct them, only making things out of simpler stuff following computerized recipes.

Transporters, on the other hand, will likely never be able to take people apart and put them back together correctly. The Uncertainty Principle would make it impossible, because it says you *cannot* know the exact position and momentum of any particle, even in principle. Therefore it would be impossible to put a pencil back together precisely, never mind a human being.

Besides the position and momentum of every atom, the transporter also has to determine each atom's quantum states and electron configuration - which is impossible by definition.

I think it was Paul Davies who wrote "The Physics of Star Trek" and he discussed this problem in an entertaining way. When asked how the Heisenberg Compensators worked, one of the people who made Star Trek answered, "They work very well, thank you."

Answer 3

First, it's called a 'replicator'.

Second, it converts 'energy' into mass.

Lastly, and most important, Heisenberg goes *much* deeper than most folks realize because it says that you cannot 'measure' something without (in some way) extracting 'information' from the thing being measured. Normally (in the macroscopic world) we wouldn't notice such a small extraction but, when the item being 'measured' is little more than 'information', it becomes very noticeable.

In Star-Trek they use a 'Heisenberg Compensator' to correct for such errors. In reality it's unclear if such a device could ever be built.

But it makes for better-than-average television ☺


Doug

Answer 4

You are quite right. Aside from other quantum considerations that limit how energy can be converted to matter (and the vast amounts of energy required), the Uncertainty Principle means that such machines could never work.

The uncertainty relationship applies to ALL conjugate variables and means that they do not commute. This places a fundamental limit on the amount of information you can extract from a system - in other words, you cannot extract all of it. This is fundamental to the working of the universe as we know it, and cannot be overcome or compensated for - it is not a technology limite. Yet a replicator would need all of this information to do its job.

Answer 5

In quantum physics, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle is a mathematical limit on the accuracy with which it is possible to measure everything there is to know about a physical system.
in a simple way.... it applies to the position and momentum of a single particle, and implies that if we continue increasing the accuracy with which one of these is measured, there will come a point at which the other must be measured with less accuracy

Answer 6

I don't think that Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle has a role in the replica machine, because that principle is about the error in measuring conjugate quantities. I think that the idea for replica is taken from old alchemy stories. Nowadays we know that, theoretically, it is possible to disturb atoms from inside, but the alchemian dream for converting elements...well, I think we are very far from it.

Answer 7

In Star Trek they use a device called a "Heisenberg Compensator". That's how they get aound it in the show. Whether or not there will ever be such a device is tough to say.

Answer 8

well theoretically it's possible isn't it. In the uncertainty principal the greater error comes the more complex the atoms become. perhaps changing some base material to food is not the too hard...it's not like they are trying to change it to a nuclear war head. Now if you see them using machine to cough up something like that...well...they have trasporters so why not this

Answer 9

i dunno whats ur question (details) has to do with Uncertainty principle ??

BUT Uncertainty principle:
It is impossible to know both the exact position & the exact momentum of an object at the same time

Becouse:
momentum P = mv, if u wanna find the momentum, so the object must be " moving " with a velocity, or else the momentum will be zero if the body is not moving
When the object is " moving ", i will not be able to tell its exact " position "

Now, say to me " Incredible !!, Mr Incredible " :D

Answer 10

No. At least not at this time. In fact, I'm confused as to where uncertainty principle would even come into this.