Close Encounters with Heisenberg: Uncertainty in secondary school

Abstract

In this paper we present a pedagogical strategy to introduce the Heisenberg uncertainty principle to high school students. The basis on which this proposal relies is the Fourier transform, connecting the quantum function in the x domain, Ψ(x), with the function in the wave number domain, A(k). This mathematical relationship directly leads to the uncertainty principle: a state localized in the former domain will present an inversely proportional dispersion in the latter domain. Since in acoustic we have an analog situation we can carry out experiments with sounds leading students to the understanding of the uncertainty relation. In our approach a slightly modified musical theme from the Steven Spielberg movie ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ is the starting point to reach the uncertainty relation.