Wednesday 10 December 2008

Uncertainty Principle

I have just been struck by a thought. A thought about uncertainty.

Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle states that both definite position and definite momentum do not exist in quantum mechanics [wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle].

Let's try and conduct a thought experiment concerning the definition of the present.

When I try to focus on the passing of time I am making an observation. By attempting to focus on and observe the present, I am trying to focus on increasingly smaller observation times i.e. t'' - t' tends toward zero.

If I define the present as the smallest possible change in time that my mind can observe and assume that this is at the quantum level then at that level of focus the uncertainty in my position must become real.

What happens if I try to 'ride time' in the same way that Einstein imagined riding light?

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