Conjugate variables: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:30, 22 March 2019

Revision as of 21:30, 22 March 2019

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{{For|conjugate variables in context of thermodynamics|Conjugate variables (thermodynamics)}}

'''Conjugate variables''' are pairs of variables mathematically defined in such a way that they become [[Fourier transform]] [[dual (mathematics)|duals]],<ref>[http://www.aip.org/history/heisenberg/p08a.htm Heisenberg – Quantum Mechanics, 1925–1927: The Uncertainty Relations]</ref><ref>[http://www.springerlink.com/content/r40472577250313r/ Some remarks on time and energy as conjugate variables]</ref> or more generally are related through [[Pontryagin duality]]. The duality relations lead naturally to an uncertainty relation—in [[physics]] called the [[Heisenberg uncertainty principle]]—between them. In mathematical terms, conjugate variables are part of a symplectic basis, and the uncertainty relation corresponds to the [[symplectic form]]. Also, conjugate variables are related by [[Noether's Theoremtheorem]], which states that if the laws of physics are invariant with respect to a change in one of the conjugate variables, then the other conjugate variable will not change with time (i.e. it will be conserved).

==Examples==