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Proposed experimental test of wave packet reduction and the uncertainty principle

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Abstract

A practical experiment using coincidence techniques is suggested to test the validity of the following concepts:(1) wave packet reduction and(2) the measurement-uncertainty principle for position and momentum. The suggested experiment uses the time-of-flight method to determine an electron's momentum and a coincident photon, emitted from a system excited by the electron, to determine its initial position. It is shown that this method does constitute a simultaneous measurement of position and momentum for a single system. Also, it is pointed out that the traditional statement of the measurementuncertainty principle must be slightly modified even within the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.

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Author notes

  1. E. E. Fitchard

    Present address: Physics Department, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Atomic Physics, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland

    E. E. Fitchard

  2. Physics Department, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York

    E. E. Fitchard

Authors
  1. E. E. Fitchard
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Additional information

Work supported by the Leverhulme Trust Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Grant No. NSG-1378.

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Fitchard, E.E. Proposed experimental test of wave packet reduction and the uncertainty principle. Found Phys 9, 525–535 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00708367

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00708367

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