Letters to the Editor
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@Dirigo @bystander
With all due respect, I believe that Mike Sulzer or one of the other physicists could do a better job. On the surface, the Uncertainty Principle just says that the act of observing changes what's observed, but in a very precise manner, with very strict consequences. But it gets into the fundamental graininess of the universe, and what can and cannot be known simultaneously, and treating fundamental things like probability distributions and stuff.
A real Connections-style work up would be fascinating.
bystander did you know that the main SDI device was essentially a way to capture the energy from a thermonuclear explosion in space and channel it into a laser or ion beam that could be pointed at the ground? In a very real sense, it was nuclear weaponry without the fallout consequences -- a very scary proposition since no fallout would "legalize" it's use in the public mind. The Soviets believed it was an offensive weapon, because they calculated that if built to spec, it could raster the city of Moscow, targeting and setting each and every building in a city of 10 million people on fire -- in 17 seconds.