“Weighing” a closed system and the time-energy uncertainty principle

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Abstract

A gedanken experiment is proposed for “weighing” the total mass of a closed system from within the system. We prove that for an internalobserver the time τ, required to measure the total energy with accuracy ΔE, is bounded according to τΔE>ħ. This time-energy uncertainty principle for a closed system follows from the measurement backreaction on the system. We generally examine what other conserved observables are in principle measurable within a closed system and what are the corresponding uncertainty relations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1368-1370
Number of pages3
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume84
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 2000

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