Conjugate variables: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:54, 5 November 2004

Revision as of 19:28, 5 November 2004

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'''CannonicalCanonical conjugate variables''' in [[physics]] are pairs of variables that share an [[uncertaintlyuncertainty principle|uncertainty relation]]. between oneThe another.terminology comes Examplesfrom include[[Hamiltonian the following:mechanics]].

*time and frequency: the longer a musical note is sustained, the more precise we know frequency but it spans more time. Conversely, a very short musical note becomes just a click, so we can't know very accurately its frequency.

Examples include the following:

*time and frequency: the longer a musical note is sustained, the more precise we know its frequency (but it spans more time). Conversely, a very short musical note becomes just a click, so we can't know very accurately its frequency.

*position and momentum

*[[doppler]] and range: the more we know about how far away a [[radar]] target is, the less we can know about the exact velocity of approach or retreat, and vice versa. In this case, the two dimensional function of doppler and range is known as a [[radar ambiguity function]] or '''radar ambiguity diagram'''.

[[Category:Physics]]