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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 127

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Humean Supervenience in the Light of Contemporary Science
It is shown that Lewis' ontological doctrine of Humean supervenience incorporates at its foundation the so-called separability principle of classical physics. In view of the systematic violation…
Vassilios KarakostasApr 17, 2009
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A contribution to the history of quarks: Boris Struminsky's 1965 JINR publication
The idea that an internal quantum number for quarks, eventually called color, can explain the magnetic moments of baryons within the framework of standard quantum theory, was explicitly stated in a…
Fyodor TkachovApr 2, 2009
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Enrico Fermi and the Old Quantum Physics
We outline Fermi's early attitude towards old quantum physics. We sketch out the context from which his interest for quantum physics arose, and we deal with his work on quantum statistics. We…
Alberto De Gregorio, Fabio SebastianiApr 1, 2009
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Which fine-tuning arguments are fine?
The argument from naturalness is widely employed in contemporary quantum field theory. Essentially a formalized aesthetic criterion, it received a meaning in the debate on the Higgs mechanism, which…
Alexei GrinbaumMar 24, 2009
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Einstein's Apple and Relativity's Gravitational Field
The foundations of Einstein's first (1907) principle of equivalence are explored and their consequences are stated in terms of invariance under generalized Lorentz transformations, first explored…
Engelbert L. SchuckingMar 23, 2009
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How Marius Was Right and Galileo Was Wrong Even Though Galileo Was Right and Marius Was Wrong
Astronomers in the early 17th century misunderstood the images of stars that they saw in their telescopes. For this reason, the data a skilled observer of that time acquired via telescopic…
Christopher M. GraneyMar 19, 2009
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Time, Space and Structure in Ancient India
Textual and archaeological sources are used to provide a synoptic vision of the universe in India. This vision was based on an assumed equivalence of the outer and the inner cosmoses and it is…
Subhash KakMar 18, 2009
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60 years of Broken Symmetries in Quantum Physics (From the Bogoliubov Theory of Superfluidity to the Standard Model)
A retrospective historical overview of the phenomenon of spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) in quantum theory, the issue that has been implemented in particle physics in the form of the Higgs…
D. V. ShirkovMar 18, 2009
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Pioneer Women in Chaos Theory
The general public has been made aware of the research field of "chaos" by the book of that title by James Gleick. This paper will focus on the achievements of Sonya Kovalevskaya, Mary…
Frank Y. WangMar 15, 2009
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Unpublished opening lecture for the course on the theory of relativity in Argentina, 1925
Honorable Rector, Honorable Professors, and Students of this University: In these times of political and economic struggle and nationalistic fragmentation, it is a particular joy for me to see people…
Albert Einstein, Alejandro Gangui, Eduardo L. OrtizMar 13, 2009
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Einstein's unpublished opening lecture for his course on relativity theory in Argentina, 1925
In 1922 the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) Council approved a motion to send an invitation to Albert Einstein to visit Argentina and give a course of lectures on his theory of relativity. The…
Alejandro Gangui, Eduardo L. OrtizMar 11, 2009
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Temporal Platonic Metaphysics
In this essay we describe a platonic metaphysics where time is a fundamental idea such that the passage of time is independent of observers and the laws of physics. Furthermore, time serves to…
A. MikovicMar 10, 2009
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A Short History of Hindu Astronomy & Ephemeris
We have summarized here the astronomical knowledge of the ancient Hindu astronomers. This knowledge was accumulated from before 1500 B.C. up to around 1200 A.D. In Section equiv we have…
P. RudraMar 10, 2009
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Topography, astronomy and dynastic history in the alignments of the pyramid fields of the Old Kingdom
It is known since the 19 century that in the layout of the pyramid field of the pharaohs of the 4 th Egyptian dynasty at Giza, a main axis exists. Indeed, the south-east corners of these monuments…
Giulio MagliMar 8, 2009
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Tribute to Francisco (Paco) Yndurain
This part of the talk aims to present briefly the biodata and the exceptional career of Paco Yndurain who left us suddenly in June 2008. The scientific part: Light Scalar Mesons in QCD is published…
Stephan NarisonFeb 8, 2009
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Visible Stars as Apparent Observational Evidence in Favor of the Copernican Principle in the Early 17th Century
The Copernican Principle (which says the Earth and sun are not unique) should have observational consequences and thus be testable. Galileo Galilei thought he could measure the true angular diameters…
Christopher M. GraneyJan 17, 2009
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Planck's blackbody radiation law: Presentation in different domains and determination of the related dimensional constants
In this paper the Planck function is derived in the frequency domain using the method of oscillators. It is also presented in the wavelength domain and in the wave number domain. The latter is mainly…
Gerhard Kramm, Nicole MöldersJan 13, 2009
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Comments Regarding "On the Nature of Science"
An attempt to redefine science in the 21st century (BK Jennings, On the Nature of Science, Physics in Canada, 63(7) 2007) has abandoned traditional notions of natural law and objective reality,…
Amy Courtney, Michael CourtneyDec 29, 2008
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The equations of medieval cosmology
In Dantean cosmography the Universe is described as a series of concentric spheres with all the known planets embedded in their rotation motion, the Earth located at the centre and Lucifer at the…
Roberto Buonanno, Claudia QuercelliniDec 23, 2008
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Regarding the Potential Impact of Double Star Observations on Conceptions of the Universe of Stars in the Early 17th Century
Galileo Galilei believed that stars were distant suns whose sizes, measured via his telescope, were a direct indication of distance -- fainter stars (appearing smaller in the telescope) were farther…
Christopher M. Graney, Henry SipesDec 19, 2008
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Michael Pupin Idvorsky and father Vasa Zivkovic
There is often a bond between two great men of a society at the time when one is at the peak of his life and the other at its beginning. The great Serbian 19th century poet, clergyman and educator…
Dragoljub A. CucicDec 9, 2008
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Astrophysical Paradoxes, long version
Astrophysical paradoxes are the paradoxes of physics. The main motivation of a formulated paradox is clearly recognized in the scientific environment because the phenomenon of a paradox itself has…
Dragoljub A. CucicDec 9, 2008
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The Muisca Calendar: An approximation to the timekeeping system of the ancient native people of the northeastern Andes of Colombia
The aim of this project is to review and expand upon the model proposed by Father Jose Domingo Duquesne de la Madrid (1745-1821) regarding the calendar of the ancient Muisca culture of the central…
Manuel Arturo Izquierdo PenaDec 2, 2008
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Parity non-conservation in beta-decay of nuclei: revisiting experiment and theory fifty years after. IV. Parity breaking models
This part offers a survey of models proposed to cope with the symmetry-breaking challenge. Among them are the two-component neutrinos, the neutrino twins, the universal Fermi interaction, etc.…
Mladen GeorgievNov 20, 2008
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The Naked Eye Stars as Data Supporting Galileo's Copernican Views
The aggregate appearance of the naked-eye stars would appear to Galileo to be direct observational support for his ideas about the stars, and indirect observational support for the Copernican theory…
Christopher M. GraneyNov 18, 2008
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