Does Quantum Uncertainty apply in Relativistic effects?

Answer 1

Why not?

First the Hinesburg Uncertainty Principle is a law of quantum mechanics that says that when you measure atomic and subatomic particles the simple act of measuring them exerts a force on them so they are changed. That means if you measure the speed of a photon then your act of clocking its speed will change it. However, we know that all photons move at the speed of life so we don’t need to measure that. Other sub atomic particles do move very fast, so fast that they are approaching the speed of light. When something goes this fast then when looked at from our frame of reference it seems to change. The fast you go the slower time passes, the more your mass increases and the shorter your dimension along the axis of travel; this is the relativistic effect from Einstein’s theory of Relativity.

Of course the uncertainty principle applies in quantum mechanics at all times and a lot of the particles are moving at very high fractions of the speed of light so relativist effects do take place. However, with the known speed you can adjust your measurements for the speed. If you continue the experiment and only check the speed once with the same forces that create the experiment on the same material then the speed should be constant so you won't have to measure it anymore and therefore change the speed.

So if you are working in a cyclotron where sub atomic particles are accelerated and then shot at each other you have to work with relativistic effects on your particles. Meaning that the electrons, neutrons, protons and other subatomic particles are all moving at or very near the speed of light; this will change the time, mass and dimension as viewed from our frame of reference. The differences will be minor though. Electrons weigh so little and are weighed at the very fast speed that they are moving so the relativistic effects are very minor. You see you can’t stop an electron from moving unless you can bring the temperature down to absolute zero, which is impossible.

The Hinesburg Uncertainty Principle is mainly concerned with the direction and speed of the particle. It doesn’t consider the relativistic effect, but that is part of the calculation of the properties of the particle because of the very high speed of the particles. I never heard of anyone having to account for relativity in the cyclotron experiments, but you raise a very good point. One that is even more important when you remember that a cyclotron is trying to accelerate its particles as fast as possible. Running them around in a magnetic field inside of a vacuum; these fast moving particles are either targeted at a small block of material or are targeted at equally fast moving particles going in the opposite direction.

Maybe you need to talk with the physics department at a University that is running a cyclotron and ask them about this. Are they allowing for relativistic effects in their experiments, are they ignoring them, or are they assuming that the relativistic effects are all in common because they keep the particles moving at the same speed?

Answer 2

So-called "relativistic effects" are always there, even if they are so small they cannot easily be detected. However, we now know relativistic mechanics are the way of our universe, and Newtonian mechanics was just a low-speed approximation.

Similarly, quantum effects integrally tied to uncertainty are always there, even though they are essentially undetectable in the classical limit of our macroscopic world. Note that original quantum theory took some time before it was reconciled with relativity to create a relativistic quantum field theory.

Answer 3

Of course it does.
The starting point of quantum theory ... is a wave function that describes all the possible various possible states of a particle right? For example, imagine a large, irregular thundercloud that fills up the sky. The darker the thundercloud, the greater the concentration of water vapor and dust at that point. Thus by simply looking at a thundercloud, we can rapidly estimate the probability of finding large concentrations of water and dust in certain parts of the sky.
The thundercloud may be compared to a single electron's wave function. Like a thundercloud, it fills up all space. Likewise, the greater its value at a point, the greater the probability of finding the electron there. Similarly, wave functions can be associated with large objects, like people. As I sit in my chair in Princeton, I know that I have a SchrÖdinger probabllity wave function. If I could somehow see my own wave function, it would resemble a cloud very much in the shape of my body. However, some of the cloud would spread out all over space, out to Mars and even beyond the solar system, although it would be vanishingly small there. This means that there is a very large likelihood that I am, in fact, sitting here in my chair and not on the planet Mars. Although part of my wave function has spread even beyond the Milky Way galaxy, there is only an infinitesimal chance that I am sitting in another galaxy.

Answer 4

It always applies, it is just not likely to be relevant.

It's like saying you need to know how many ants are on Earth before you can calculate its gravitational pull.

Physicists rather regularly ignore things that have a negligible effect on outcomes. This is just one of many.

Answer 5

quantum mechanic and general relativity are still somewhat contradicting eachother (eventhough they are both accepted as sounds theories)