Derive the approximate form of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle for energy and time,
ΔEΔt≈h, using the following arguments: Since the position of a particle is uncertain by
Δx≈λ, where
λ is the wavelength of the photon used to examine it, there is an uncertainty in the time the photon takes to traverse
Δx . Furthermore, the photon
has an energy related to its wavelength, and it can transfer some or all of this energy to the object being examined. Thus the uncertainty in the energy of the object is also related to
λ. Find
Δt and
ΔE ; then multiply them to give the approximate uncertainty principle.