Charge density many of them in a macroscopic volume (there are about 10 conduction electrons in a cubic centimeter of copper) the continuous approximation is very accurate when applied to macroscopic volumes, and even microscopic volumes above the nanometer level. At atomic scales, due to the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics, a charged particle does not "have" a precise position but is represented by a probability distribution, so the charge of an individual particle is not concentrated at a point but is 'smeared out' in space and acts like a true continuous charge distribution. This is the meaning of 'charge distribution' and
Particle in a box which is proportional to formula_44. The variance in the position is a measure of the uncertainty in position of the particle: The probability density for finding a particle with a given momentum is derived from the wavefunction as formula_46. As with position, the probability density for finding the particle at a given momentum depends upon its state, and is given by where, again, formula_33. The expectation value for the momentum is then calculated to be zero, and the variance in the momentum is calculated to be: The uncertainties in position and momentum (formula_50 and formula_51) are defined as being equal