The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

In 1927 Heisenberg formulates the uncertainty relation:

This means that the uncertainty in the position (x) times the uncertainty in the momentum (p) is greater than or equal to a number called h-bar divided by two. We cannot measure either position or momentum exactly. The more precisely we determine one, the less we can know about the other. This is a fundamental property of quantum mechanics.

Another form of this principle is:

which leads to the idea of virtual particles.