{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Drishtikone","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/drishtikone","author_name":"Desh Kapoor","author_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/drishtikone\/author\/drishtikone\/","title":"Path has no meaning","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"0zKbH8UnUP\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/drishtikone\/2008\/05\/path-has-no-meaning\/\">Path has no meaning<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/drishtikone\/2008\/05\/path-has-no-meaning\/embed\/#?secret=0zKbH8UnUP\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Path has no meaning&#8221; &#8212; Drishtikone\" data-secret=\"0zKbH8UnUP\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","description":"With the formulation of Planck's constant, our limits of observation were set. Beyond this limit, our observation lacked any meaning. The confidence of what we saw beyond this was imaginary and superstition. Try as we might to define the route that an electron took to reach the other side of the neutron, it was a mere conjecture. The postulation was a crushing mandate on not only classical physics but classical human philosophy - Path had no meaning beyond a point. We may keep yearning for it and try charting it or forcing it upon ourselves but that was merely to humor ourselves. How could something so dynamic and infinite at the same time lend itself to a static path? To reinforce this idea further, he used matrices to find the difference between observing the momentum first or the location and found that even that was equal to the same constant. He however added an imaginary number to the result to convey the message - a very significant one. In 1925, following pioneering work with Hendrik Kramers, Heisenberg developed matrix mechanics, which replaced the ad-hoc old quantum theory with modern quantum mechanics. The central assumption was that the classical motion was not precise at the quantum level, and electrons in an atom did not travel on sharply defined orbits. Rather, the motion was smeared out in a strange way: the time Fourier transform only involving those frequencies which could be seen in quantum jumps. Heisenberg's paper did not admit any unobservable quantities, like the exact position of the electron in an orbit at any time, he only allowed the theorist to talk about the Fourier components of the motion. Since the Fourier components were not defined at the classical frequencies, they could not be used to construct an exact trajectory, so that the formalism could not answer certain overly precise questions about where the electron was or how fast it was going. The most striking property of Heisenberg's infinite matrices for the position and momentum is that they do not commute.","thumbnail_url":"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/math\/9\/a\/b\/9ab5bbc4a1b8b6309c6d7f9b68520499.png"}