atomic physics -uncertainty product

Thread Starter

tathamay

Joined Dec 18, 2006
5
Why uncertainty product is different in various state (n=1,2,3,....)of an atom? give physical significance. such as, uncertainty product in ground state is greater than first excited state?
 

Papabravo

Joined Feb 24, 2006
21,158
In the ground state, the probability is that the electron is close to the nucleus. In any relationship with a hyperbola for a graph, a small change in one variable (uncertainty in position) leads to a large change in the other(uncertainty in momentum). The product is still constrained by the inequality whose boundary is the hyperbola.
 

Papabravo

Joined Feb 24, 2006
21,158
I did give a physical reason. The products are different because it is an inequality. The products are not required to be the same in all states.
 
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