The German mathematical physicist Werner Karl Heisenberg (1901–1976) is regarded as the father of quantum mechanics (the theory of small-scale physical phenomena). His theory of uncertainty in 1927 overturned traditional classical mechanics and electromagnetic theory regarding energy and motion when applied to subatomic particles such as electrons and parts of atomic nuclei. The theory states that while it is impossible to specify precisely both the position and the simultaneous momentum (mass 3 velocity) of a particle, they can only be predicted. This means that the result of an action can be expressed only in terms of probability that a certain effect will occur. Heinsenberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932.