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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 120

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Less is Different: Emergence and Reduction Reconciled
This is a companion to another paper. Together they rebut two widespread philosophical doctrines about emergence. The first, and main, doctrine is that emergence is incompatible with reduction. The…
Jeremy ButterfieldJun 3, 2011
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Editorial note to "The beginning of the world from the point of view of quantum theory"
This is an editorial note to accompany reprinting as a Golden Oldie in the Journal of General Relativity and Gravitation of the famous note by Georges Lemaitre on the quantum birth of the universe,…
Jean-Pierre LuminetMay 31, 2011
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The art of science: interview with Professor John Archibald Wheeler
During the conference on the methods of differential geometry in physics in Warsaw in June 1976, Professor Wheeler gave an interview for the Czechoslovak Journal of Physics A. After Professor Wheeler…
Jiři BičákMay 23, 2011
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Philosophical problems of space-time theories
I present a discussion of some open issues in the philosophy of space-time theories. Emphasis is put on the ontological nature of space and time, the relation between determinism and predictability,…
Gustavo E. RomeroMay 22, 2011
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Kepler's Differential Equations
Although the differential calculus was invented by Newton, Kepler established his famous laws 70 years earlier by using the same idea, namely to find a path in a nonuniform field of force by small…
Martin HolderMay 19, 2011
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Revisiting Kepler's Laws of Equal Areas and Ellipses for the Earth
Kepler's laws of planetary motion are acknowledged as highly significant to the construction of universal gravitation. The present study demonstrates different ways to derive the law of equal…
Wu-Yi Hsiang, Hai-Chau Chang, Herng Yao et al.May 17, 2011
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On the ideal gas law
The air density on earth decays as a function of altitude z approximately according to an (-w\,z/θ)-law, where w denotes the weight of a nitrogen molecule and θ= T where kB is a…
Jacques Arnaud, Laurent Chusseau, Fabrice PhilippeMay 13, 2011
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Eclipses in Australian Aboriginal Astronomy
We explore 50 Australian Aboriginal accounts of lunar and solar eclipses to determine how Aboriginal groups understood this phenomenon. We summarise the literature on Aboriginal references to…
Duane W. Hamacher, Ray P. NorrisMay 13, 2011
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Quantum Mechanics in Phase Space
Ever since Werner Heisenberg's 1927 paper on uncertainty, there has been considerable hesitancy in simultaneously considering positions and momenta in quantum contexts, since these are…
Thomas L Curtright, Cosmas K ZachosApr 27, 2011
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Time of Philosophers, Time of Physicists, Time of Mathematicians
Is presentism compatible with relativity ? This question has been much debated since the argument first proposed by Rietdijk and Putnam. The goal of this text is to study the implications of…
Fabien BesnardApr 23, 2011
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On Order and Randomness: A View from the Edge of Chaos
The recognition of the agency of the knower has enormously enriched our understanding of knowledge production. There is a growing realization that what we know about how we know affects our…
Gennady ShkliarevskyApr 20, 2011
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On a Schwarzschild like metric
In this short Note we would like to bring into the attention of people working in General Relativity a Schwarzschild like metric found by Professor Cleopatra Mociuţchi in sixties. It was obtained by…
M. Anastasiei, I. GottliebApr 20, 2011
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Lemaître's Hubble relationship
Edwin Hubble is often credited with discovering the expanding Universe based on spectra taken by him. This statement is incorrect and we feel that it is the responsibility of those who are aware of…
M. J. Way, Harry NussbaumerApr 15, 2011
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Qualia are Quantum Leaps
I contemplate the idea that the subjective world and quantum state reductions are one and the same. If true, this resolves with one stroke both the quantum mechanical measurement problem and the hard…
George SvetlichnyApr 13, 2011
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Reconstruction of ancient conceptual landscapes in the Nile Valley
Conceptual landscapes in Egypt show a remarkable continuity - for as long as 2000 years - in the use of symbols and in the interplay between natural and man-built features. Directionality, both in…
Giulio MagliApr 10, 2011
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William Maximilian Lindley: Fifth Director of the BAA Variable Star Section
William Maximilian Lindley, MC, MA, FRAS, AMICE (1891-1972) served as fifth Director of the BAA Variable Star Section from 1939 to 1958. He was an active variable star observer for many years and he…
Jeremy ShearsApr 8, 2011
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A Note On Astronomer R. G. Chandra and British Astronomical Association
In the present Note we have presented some documents to reveal the longstanding relationship of Indian amateur astronomer R. G. Chandra with British Astronomical Association.
Sudhindra Nath Biswas, Utpal Mukhopadhyay, Saibal RayApr 7, 2011
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Democritus and the motive power of fire
The present work is a translation from french to english of our previous Démocrite et la puissance motrice du feu, amended on a number of respects. It is mainly of historical and pedagogical…
Jacques Arnaud, Laurent Chusseau, Fabrice PhilippeApr 5, 2011
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Quelle place pour les arcs électriques et les réacteurs plasmas dans l'" Inventaire et valorisation des collections, archives scientifiques et biens culturels " de l'université de Limoges ?
The University of Limoges in the rehabilitation of the premises was confronted with scientific disposal of property irreplaceable heritage in the context of "postmodern" or "post…
Bernard Pateyron, Anne-Marie DelauneApr 5, 2011
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Charles Lewis Brook: third Director of the BAA Variable Star Section
Charles Lewis Brook, MA, FRAS, FRMetS (1855 - 1939) served as Director of the BAA Variable Star Section from 1910 to 1921. During this time he was not merely interested in collecting the observations…
Jeremy ShearsApr 1, 2011
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Could the Coandă effect be called the Young effect? The understanding of fluid dynamics of a legendary polymath
A paper of Thomas Young (1773-1829) on the behavior of streams of air makes a good starting point for discussing the not always fair, sometimes serendipitous, association of a physical phenomenon…
Teresa López-AriasMar 31, 2011
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Thinking about Archeoastronomy
I discuss various aspects of archeoastronomy concentrating on physical artifacts (i.e., not including ethno-archeoastronomy) focusing on the period that ended about 2000 years ago. I present examples…
Noah BroschMar 29, 2011
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Domenico Pacini, uncredited pioneer of the discovery of cosmic rays
During a series of experiments performed between 1907 and 1911, Domenico Pacini (Marino 1878-Roma 1934), at that time researcher at the Central Bureau of Meteorology and Geodynamics in Roma, studied…
Alessandro De AngelisMar 22, 2011
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E. Specker: "The logic of non-simultaneously decidable propositions" (1960)
Translation of 'Die Logik Nicht Gleichzeitig Entscheidbarer Aussagen' by Ernst Specker, Dialectica, vol. 14, 239 - 246 (1960).
M. P. SeevinckMar 22, 2011
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The Many Worlds of Hugh Everett III
A review of Peter Byrne's biography of Hugh Everett III, "The Many Worlds of Hugh Everett III: Multiple Universes, Mutual Assured Destruction, and the Meltdown of a Nuclear Family",…
Adrian KentMar 21, 2011
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