Some Consequences of the Uncertainty Principle
The uncertainty principle allows us to understand why it is possible for radiation, and matter, to have a dual (wave-particle) nature. If we try experimentally to determine whether radiation is a wave or a particle, for example, we find that an experiment that forces radiation to reveal its wave character strongly suppresses its particle character. If we modify the experiment to bring out the particle character, then its wave character is suppressed. We can never bring the wave and the particle view face to face in the same experimental situation. Radiation, and also matter, are like coins that can be made to display either face at will but not both simultaneously. This is the essence of Bohr's principle of complementarity; the idea of wave and of particle complement rather than contradict one another.
The uncertainty principle also makes it clear that the mechanics of quantum systems must necessarily be expressed in terms of probabilities. In classical mechanics, if at any instant we know exactly the position and momentum of each particle in an isolated system, then we can predict the exact behavior of the particle of the system for all future time. In quantum mechanics, however, the uncertainty principle shows us that it is impossible to do this for systems involving small distances and momenta because it is impossible to know, with the required accuracy, the instantaneous positions and momenta of the particles. As a result, we shall be able to make predictions only of the probable behavior of these particles.