A pesky 1.7- m g mosquito is annoying you as you attempt to study physics in you

Question

A pesky 1.7-mg mosquito is annoying you as you attempt to study physics in your room, which is 5.5m wide and 2.5 m high. You decide to swat the bothersome insect as it flies toward you, but you need to estimate its speed to make a successful hit.

Part A: What is the maximum uncertainty in the horizontal position of the mosquito?

Part B: What limit does the Heisenberg uncertainty principle place on your ability to know the horizontal velocity of this mosquito?

Part C: Is this limitation a serious impediment to your attempt to swat it?

Explanation / Answer

Planck's constant is extremely small, the Heisenburg Uncertainty principle produces incredibly small uncertainties, even when dealing with distances in the micrometer range! In this case you are dealing with 4.5 meters so the uncertainty in the speed will be EXTREMELY small--immeasurably small--and thus Heisenburg's uncertainty principle does not forbid you from getting extremely accurate measurements of the bug's speed.

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