Heisenberg's microscope 2 - The photograph would be impossible to take of the real thing because it is impossible to see a photon, and it is impossible to see an electron. But this experiment is a thought experiment. The image shows the nucleus of an atom, in black, and an electron in its orbit in grey. At this very instant, a gamma particle (the red object) is going to impact the electron. When the gamma particle strikes the electron, its original trajectory will be disturbed. Heisenberg's purpose was to demonstrate to those who held a classical view of physics that by their own understanding of how the universe works the idea that one can know the exact position and momentum of a small particle such as an electron must be false.

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