Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity

of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.

"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.

----Joseph Heller, Catch-22

The uncertainty principle is the ultimate Catch-22. This jewel of quantum mechanics was developed by Werner Heisenberg and it forever changed the way we view the world. The uncertainty principle states that it is impossible to determine both a particle's position and momentum because at a fundamental level nature is uncertain. The catch-22 of the uncertainty principle is that the more that is known about one of the quantities the less that is known about the other. The uncertainty principle shows that measurements on the subatomic realm are not uncertain because of the instruments used, but because nature itself is uncertain or at least the way it presents itself to us is.

In order to proves this Heisenberg dreamed up a thought experiment that involved the creation of a ultra powerful microscope. The microscope would be so powerful that it could see an electron. The problem with a microscope that can see an electron is that it can't use light. Light is too feeble a device to see an electron. This is because the wave length of light is two large to see an electron. Think of it this way. A regular microscope works by projecting light through a specimen to made a shadow that the microscope can resolve and make visible to the human eye. If a human hair is held in front of a flash light and is projected on a wall it wouldn't have a distinct shadow. This is because the hair is too thin to make a disturbance in the light waves. In order to solve this problem Heisenberg proposed that gamma rays be used in the ultra microscope because they have the smallest wave length known and the electron should be able to make a disturbance in them. The electron should make a shadow on the wall.

But here's the catch. Since gamma rays have the smallest wave length they have the most energy. When the gamma ray hits the electron it changes the electrons direction and velocity in an unpredictable manner. By finding the electron's exact position the act of measuring has complete changed its momentum. If the electron's momentum is found preciously, then nothing is known about it's position. What the uncertainty principle means is that it is impossible to observe something without changing it. This has terrific consequences on the way QM's view reality. First of all, it changes quantum mechanics from being an exact science to a science of probability. A QM can say probably where an electron is and probably where it is going, but their is always uncertainty. A consequence of this is that it completely destroys Newton's laws of motion because in order for them to work both position and momentum are needed. The old absolute laws must be abandoned and replaced with a flexible probability. If you kept flying missions you were crazy. If you were crazy you could be grounded if you asked. Once you asked to be grounded, you were no longer crazy and would have to fly more missions. If you want to predict the behavior of a particle, you must know its position and momentum. You could find the particles position if you measured it. Once you have measured the position, you have changed the momentum and would be uncertain of the particles behavior. It is this catch-22 that shows the paramount importance of the observer.

Quantum mechanics has shown that the observer is of paramount importance. This is because observation causes the uncertainty in the uncertainty principle and it causes the wave function to collapse. This, however, causes a great problem for science because science is build on the assertion that their is such a thing as independent observation. During an experiment most of the time is spent trying to remove outside influences to keep the data pure. This is why scientist build telescopes in space and particle detectors in the bottom of salt mines. Unfortunately, if observation effects nature, as quantum mechanics says it does, then their is no way to have a clean experiment because observation will always effect it. More importantly, if an observer is needed to collapse the wave function and generate reality; does the universe exist without man? Has quantum mechanics undone hundreds of years of physics showing that man is not the center of the universe. It is this existential crisis that caused many physicists to question the validity of quantum mechanics and the interpretations of what it means. One of quantum mechanic's fathers invented a thought experiment to show the absurdity of quantum mechanics implications to reality. Erwin Schrodinger developed the infamous Schrodingers cat experiment. But have no fear because in science if a QM has more questions than when he started, then it can be safely said that the QM has made progress.