The uncertainty principle shows mathematically that the product of the uncertainty in the position and [[momentum]] of a particle (momentum is velocity multiplied by mass) can never be less than a certain value, and that this value is related to Planck's constant.
==Schrödinger's wave equation==
{{Main|Schrödinger equation}}
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Building on [[De Broglie]]'s theoretical model of particles as waves, Austrian physicist [[Erwin Schrödinger]] brought forth in 1926 what has been called "the fundamental equation" of quantum mechanics.<ref name="EB-SchrEquation">[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/528298/Schrodinger-equation "Schrodinger Equation (Physics)," ''Encyclopedia Britannica '']</ref>
The equation describes the form of the probability waves thatwhich govern the motion of smallsub-atomic particles, "and it specifies how these waves are altered by external influences. Schrödinger established the correctness of the equation by applying it to the [[hydrogen atom]], predicting many of its properties with remarkable accuracy. The equation is used extensively in atomic, nuclear, and [[solid-state physics]]."<ref name="EB-SchrEquation"/>
Although Werner Heisenberg sawhad no problem inwith the existence of discontinuous quantum jumps, Schrödinger hoped that a theory based on continuous wave-like properties<ref group="note"> Schrödinger's formulation of quantum mechanics based on waves is sometimes referred to as "wave mechanics", to distinguish it from the [[matrix mechanics]] formulation of Heisenberg, [[Max Born]] and [[Pascual Jordan]].</ref> could avoid what he called (in the reported words of [[Wilhelm Wien]]<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/dp/0521437679 W. Moore, ''Schrödinger: Life and Thought'', Cambridge University Press (1989), p. 222]</ref>) "this nonsense about quantum jumps."
