Thursday, April 2, 2015

quantum mechanics - Couldn't we measure electrons with good enough technology?



I am a bit confused about the Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle - just read about it in How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, by Chad Orzel. He states that the reason electrons can't be measured is because the photons used to measure electrons, collide with them causing changes in momentum and velocity.


Couldn't this simply be fixed by creating a vacuum and using a different method of observation? Maybe something that doesn't exist today?


Edit:


A full disclaimer: I never took a physics course higher than a basic intro to physics.



All the answers below are still referring to light (photons) as the method for measuring the momentum/location of the particle. My question is: is it not possible to create a vacuum without any possible light source from entering; using this vacuum we can device a more advanced method which does not affect the momentum or position of the electrons.




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