Science Experiments

Question: Quantum Physics. Does the observer really change everything?

I suspect there is some pop science crap that says the experiment sences you are there. there is some very well produced high production value documentaries trying to pawn this off. however a short definition I read say the quantum physics can only be measured by bouncing a partcle off of an electron. that slows the electron and the observation is tainted. it that more accurate or am I lost in the woods on this one?

Answer: Yes, in quantum physics that is true. To measure something, you impinge photons (light packets) on the object being measured which alters the momentum and properties of that which is being observed. So the observer adds uncertainty to the measurement. Things can even get weirder with the particle wave duality where we can never observe a particle acting simultaneously as a particle and a wave, but if we design and carry out an experiment to test for wave properties we observe it, then can see the same object acting as a particle (and not as a wave) further down the experiment hall. Quantum physics is either awesome or the bane of man, depending upon your perspective..

GypsyCat’s Science Experiment 2