Hello Harry, You asked -- "So, the measuring instrument itself will produce energy, if it is used to precisely measure the energy of a particle?"
Probably not. But maybe there are subtleties that obey the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, but allow for some counterintuitive effects. For example, refer to -- "Concentrating Energy by Measurement" http://arxiv.org/abs/1012.5868 -- LP Harry Veeder wrote: > On Fri, Aug 17, 2012 at 8:57 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: >> In reply to [email protected]'s message of Fri, 17 Aug 2012 >> 13:11:31 >> -0400 (EDT): >> Hi, >> [snip] >>>Pardon for this very late postscript, time is hard to find. >>> >>>I believe you assume a wave function totally confined in all >>> 3-dimensions. >>> This is probably not what was intended. It is easy to find papers >>>describing crystal/lattice channel conduction of much higher energy >>>particles (electrons, protons, ...). These are extended states - only >>>confined in one or two dimensions. High energy particles do not >>>necessarily break the lattice structure. >>> >>>-- LP >> >> What I meant to do was calculate the momentum (assuming a kinetic energy >> of >> 0.782 MeV for the proton), and divide it into h-bar/2. However it >> appears I got >> something slightly wrong the first time around. The value I get now is >> 2.57 fm >> for a proton, and 0.93 fm for the deuteron. >> >> However I don't really stand behind the entire concept. I don't think >> the energy >> of particles magically increases when they are confined. I do think the >> measurement uncertainty increases, but that's not the same thing as >> their actual >> energy. Instead, I see it as a limitation on our ability to measure, not >> a >> change in the actual properties of the particle itself. >> IOW the restriction applies to us, not to the particles. >> Regards, >> >> Robin van Spaandonk >> >> http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html >> > > So, the measuring instrument itself will produce energy, if it is used > to precisely measure the energy of a particle? > > > Harry > > >
