- The complementarity principle holds that objects have specific pairs of complementary properties which cannot all be observed or measured simultaneously.
- Complementarity is a principle related to the need to use two mutually exclusive conceptual frameworks (e.g., waves vs. particles) to obtain a complete description of quantum phenomena.
- The Uncertainty Principle applies to all objects but is only significant at the atomic or subatomic level.
- Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle provides the mathematical proof for Bohr’s complementarity principle. It expresses a specific instance of complementarity concerning position and momentum measurements in precise mathematical terms. When you have a pair of observables that don’t match up, like position and momentum, angle and angular momentum, and energy and time, the uncertainty principle matches them up. The more accurately you know one of the pairs, the less you can learn about the other. It also implies that this is true because a quantum state cannot have a substantial value for both observables of that pair. Both are needed to obtain the complete picture. Countless particles can superimpose and occupy the exact location simultaneously, a physical interpretation known as superposition. You can never simultaneously know precisely where something is and how fast it is going. A material particle is considered a point particle because it is structured and rigid enough to have a center of mass. This is not so with a quantum particle spread out in space and has a wave-like nature.
- An electron does not revolve around the nucleus in orbit. There are no paths. There are only orbitals. An excited electron, i.e., an electron at an orbital of higher energy, will remain in that orbital for a limited time. We only have orbitals. Nothing is revolving. You calculate the probability density of an electron around the nucleus through Schrodinger’s wave function and follow quantum mechanics.
- There were always exceptions and modifications to the laws of physics, so, in the mid-19th century, scientists re-named newly discovered laws to become principles.
