complementarity principle

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complementarity principle

complementarity principle physical principle enunciated by Niels Bohr in 1928 stating that certain physical concepts are complementary. If two concepts are complementary, an experiment that clearly illustrates one concept will obscure the other complementary one. For example, an experiment that illustrates the particle properties of light will not show any of the wave properties of light. This principle also implies that only certain kinds of information can be gained in a particular experiment. Some other information that is equally important cannot be measured simultaneously and is lost.

Bibliography: See W. Heisenberg, The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory (1930, repr. 1949); N. Bohr, Atomic Physics and Human Knowledge (1958); B. L. Cline, Men Who Made a New Physics: Physicists and the Quantum Theory (1987).

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complementarity

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | © The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

com·ple·men·tar·i·ty / ˌkämpləmenˈtaritē/ • n. (pl. -ties) a complementary relationship or situation: a culture based on the complementarity of men and women. ∎ Physics the concept that two contrasted theories, such as the wave and particle theories of light, may be able to explain a set of phenomena, although each separately only accounts for some aspects. ∎ Law the principle that jurisdictions will not overlap in legislation, administration, or prosecution of crime.

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